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THE  SPREAD  OF 
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PAUL    HUTCHiNSON         ,.,1 


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BR  151  .H8  1922 
Hutchinson,  Paul,  1890- 
The  spread  of  Christianity 


Wi)t  ^btngbon  Beltgtousi  Cbucatton  tKtxtsi 
Babib  #.  Botonep,  (General  €bttor 

WEEK-DAY  SCHOOL  SERIES  GEORGE  HERBERT  BETTS,  Editor 


THE  SPREAD  OF 
CHRISTIANITY 


BY 


PAUL   HUTCHINSON 


THE   ABINGDON    PRESS 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


Cop3n-ight,  1922,  by 

PAUL  HUTCHINSON 

All  Rights  Reserved 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


To 
LYNN   HAROLD   HOUGH 

AT   WHOSE   TOUCH 

THE  PAST  SPRINGS  TO  LIFE 
THE  PRESENT  TAKES  MEANING 
AND  THE   FUTURE  BECKONS 


CHAPTER 


11. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXI. 

XXII. 

XXIII. 

XXIV. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 

XXVII. 

XXVIII. 

XXIX. 

XXX. 

XXXI. 

XXXII. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface 5 

The  Christian  Message  in  the  Mediterranean 
World 7 

Christianity  Faces  the  Danger  of  Success 16 

The  Break-Up  of  the  Roman  Empire 24 

The  Winning  of  Northern  Europe 33 

The  Popes  Come  to  Power 42 

The  Later  Church  in  the  East 51 

Christianity's  Greatest  Rival 60 

The  Church  Goes  to  War 69 

Life  and  Worship  in  the  Medi/EVAL  Church  ....     77 

Church  and  State 85 

The  Dawn  of  a  New  Age 94 

New  Channels  for  Christianity's  Spread 102 

The  Roman  Theory  of  the  Church  Challenged    iio 

Catholicism  Enters  New  Worlds 120 

Who  Was  to  Spread  Christianity? 129 

Geneva — A  City  for  God 137 

The  Reformation  in  England  and  Scotland  ....   146 

Early  Missionaries  in  the  Americas 156 

Protestantism  Faces  the  Wider  World 164 

Methodism  Brings  New  Energy 172 

Spreading  Religion  in  America 180 

Christianity  in  Modern  India 188 

China  and  Christianity 197 

The  Approach  to  Islam 205 

The  Cross  in  the  Japanese  Empire 213 

In  the  Dark  Continent 221 

Religion  in  Latin-America 229 

Other  Fields  for  Christianity's  Advance 237 

The  American  Churches 244 

Modern  Catholicism 252 

How  Christianity  is  Spread 260 

Christianity  To-day  and  To-morrow 267 

Aids  in  the  Study  of  This  Book 275 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 
The  Extent  of  Christianity  About  600  a.  d Frontispiece 

FACING   PAGE 

The  Church   in  the  Life  of  Mediaeval  Europe 82 

Jerusalem,  the  Center  of  the  Universe 104 

Luther  Before  the  Diet  at  Worms 117 

Wesley  Preaching  in  Wales 176 

India's  Response  to  the  Gospel 193 

The  Challenge  of  Mohammedanism  to  Christianity 209 

The  Extent  of  Christianity,  1920  a.  d 269 


PREFACE 

Of  the  making  of  church  histories  there  seems  to  be 
no  end,  nor  of  the  discovery  of  new  facts  that  have  a 
bearing  on  the  story.  The  only  reason  for  a  new  text, 
in  view  of  the  adequate  volumes  that  already  exist,  is 
the  hope  of  winning  the  interest  of  a  new  group — in 
this  case,  pupils  in  the  eleventh  grade  of  the  American 
school. 

In  writing  for  this  group  (which  is  generally  found 
in  the  sophomore  or  junior  years  of  the  high  school)  no 
effort  has  been  made  to  mention  all  the  facts,  or  even 
all  the  names,  that  must  be  included  in  any  complete 
record  of  the  Christian  enterprise.  It  is  conceivable 
that  some  church  historians,  chancing  on  this  book, 
might  be  overwhelmed  by  its  omissions.  To  any  such 
it  can  only  be  said  that  the  omissions  have  been 
deliberate. 

The  attempt  has  been  to  throw  into  bold  relief  the 
significant  developments  in  Christian  history  since  the 
days  of  Constantine.  Christianity  as  a  growing  power 
is  the  theme,  with  the  hope  that  young  Christians  may 
find  some  pride  in  belonging  to  a  body  that,  with  all  its 
long  traditions,  lives  ever  on  the  move.  Likewise,  the 
spread  of  Christianity  has  been  presented,  not  as  some 
unique  phenomenon  in  a  water-tight  compartment  of  its 
own,  but  as  an  integral  part  of  the  movement  of  all 
history.  The  repetition  of  much  that  is  included  in 
the  usual  school  course  seems  justified  if  this  branch  of 
history  is  to  be  seen  in  its  proper  frame. 

In  every  case  the  publishers  named  in  the  footnotes 

5 


6  PREFACE 

have  generously  granted  permission  to  quote  from  the 
books  mentioned. 

The  cooperation  of  the  editors  and  publishers  of  the 
Abingdon  Series  of  Week-Day  Religious  Education 
Texts  is  gratefully  acknowledged. 

Teachers  of  this  course  will  find  added  material  and 
suggested  methods  of  approach  and  treatment  in  the 
Teacher's  Manual  soon  to  follow  this  text. 

So  the  book  goes  forth,  with  all  its  shortcomings. 
May  these  not  mar  for  any  the  challenge  of  the  Chris- 
tian adventure,  hard-bound  toward  the  establishment 
of  a  universal  kingdom.  For  there  is  ever  a  place  for 
any  youth  that  would  share  in  that  high  endeavor. 

The  Author. 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  CHRISTIAN  MESSAGE  IN  THE 
MEDITERRANEAN  WORLD 

From  its  birth  Christianity  has  prospered  as  it  has 
traveled.  The  days  of  its  missionary  vigor  have  been 
the  days  of  its  greatest  power.  Ahnost  the  last  authen- 
tic echo  from  the  life  of  its  Founder  centers  about  the 
imperative  "Go!"  and  it  has  seemed  as  though  the 
destiny  of  the  gospel  were  bound  up  with  the  degree 
of  fidelity  that  the  church  has  shown  that  command. 

It  is  our  purpose  to  trace  the  process  by  which  Chris- 
tianity developed  from  a  small  sect  within  the  Jewish 
faith  to  a  religion  spread  throughout  the  continents. 
We  will  not  find  a  story  of  unimpeded  advance.  We 
will  encounter  defeats,  retreats,  and — what  is  perhaps 
worse — periods  of  self-centered  stupor.  But  we  will 
find,  after  twenty  centuries,  a  vast  body  of  believers 
and  multiplying  agencies,  inspired  by  common  ideals, 
owning  allegiance  to  a  common  Lord,  and  moving  ever 
toward  distant  horizons. 

The  Christian  Message  Enters  the  World 

What  is  the  Christian  message? — Christianity  has 
spread  because  it  has  brought  men  such  a  message  as 
they  have  heard  nowhere  else.  For  that  reason  it  is 
well  for  us  to  ask,  as  a  foundation  for  our  study,  what 
the  Christian  message  is. 

It  was  first  given  form  by  Jesus,  a  member  of  the 
Hebrew    tribe   of    Judah,  who    came   from    the   town 

7 


8        THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

of  Nazareth,  preaching  throughout  Judasa  during  the 
early  years  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Jesus  followed  in 
the  line  of  the  Hebrew  prophets,  proclaiming  the  neces- 
sity for  inner  righteousness  that  should  express  itself 
in  a  life  able  to  stand  the  most  searching  ethical  tests. 
He  found  the  impulse  for  such  a  life  in  the  realization 
of  the  character  of  God,  whom  he  spoke  of  as  always 
actuated  by  motives  of  love  and  good  will,  and  directly 
interested  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  every  human 
being.  His  conception  of  God  was  epitomized  in  the 
term  by  which  he  habitually  spoke  of  the  Deity,  a 
term  that  has  become  characteristic  of  Christian  devo- 
tion:  "the  heavenly  Father." 

Jesus  taught  that  the  heavenly  Father  is  seeking  a 
regenerated  human  society,  to  which  he  gives  the 
name  of  "the  kingdom  of  God,"  or  "the  kingdom  of 
heaven,"  and  conceived  it  as  distinctively  his  mission 
to  lead  men  into  the  understanding  of  God  that  he 
himself  possessed,  and  so  into  membership  in  this 
kingdom.  Such  relationship  with  God,  Jesus  prom- 
ised, would  result  in  transformation  of  life,  both  in- 
wardly and  outwardly,  and  ultimately  in  transformation 
of  all  human  society. 

After  a  brief  career  as  a  teacher  Jesus  came  into 
conflict  with  the  conservative  religious  forces  of  his 
own  nation.  To  some  extent  the  universality  of  his 
outlook  brought  this  to  pass;  to  some  extent  his  claim 
to  possession  of  unique  spiritual  truth  outside  the 
bounds  of  the  established  church.  The  Roman  adminis- 
tration of  Palestine  was  induced  to  regard  the  teacher 
from  Nazareth  as  a  disturber  of  the  pubhc  order,  and 
he  was  crucified. 

The  message  of  Jesus  begins  to  spread. — The 
execution  of  Jesus  was  one  more  instance  of  the  answer 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MESSAGE  9 

that  authority  is  generally  moved  to  make  to  agitation. 
In  this  case,  however,  the  application  of  force  failed 
to  put  an  end  to  the  new  ideas  that  had  come  out  of 
Galilee,  Declaring  that  they  had  knowledge  that 
Jesus  had  risen  from  the  dead,  as  an  evidence  of  the 
truth  of  his  teaching  and  the  validity  of  his  claim  to 
be  the  Messiah  (or,  in  Greek,  the  Christ),  the  group 
of  followers  who  had  formed  about  Jesus  by  the  time 
of  his  death  formed  a  band  within  the  Jewish  church 
marked  by  evangelistic  fervor  and  philanthropic  effort. 

There  must  have  been  about  a  hundred  in  this  group 
of  original  disciples,  among  whom  the  eleven  who  had 
been  most  intimately  in  association  with  Jesus  naturally 
took  the  leadership.  Among  these  apostles,  as  they 
are  known  to  history,  Peter  stood  out  at  the  beginning 
by  reason  of  the  boldness  of  his  preaching,  which  led 
to  great  additions  to  the  community  of  believers  at 
Pentecost  and  after. 

Within  a  few  months  or  years  (it  is  difficult  to 
determine  the  precise  chronology  of  this  portion  of 
the  story),  this  group  had  grown  to  such  size,  and 
had  so  disturbed  the  conservative  elements  within  the 
Jewish  Church  by  the  radicalism  of  its  teaching,  that 
it  was  practically  forced  to  separate  places  and  forms 
of  worship,  and  was  subjected  to  persecution.  This 
persecution  drove  out  of  Jerusalem  many  of  the  pro- 
fessed believers  in  Christ,  and  these,  in  the  language 
of  the  New  Testament,  "went  everywhere  (through 
Palestine)  preaching  the  word."  Thus  began  the 
diffusion  of  the  Christian  message. 

The  first  approach  to  the  Gentile  world. — Some  of 
the  more  adventurous  of  these  refugees  from  Jerusalem, 
or  those  who  had  relatives  in  the  Jewish  quarters  of 
Gentile  cities,  pushed  beyond  the  borders  of  Palestine. 


lo       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

The  first  contact  with  this  vast  Gentile  life  came 
within  Palestine  itself,  when  a  Roman  centurion, 
already  in  some  touch  with  the  Jewish  faith,  received 
baptism  at  the  hand  of  Peter.  This  apostle  thus  became 
the  champion  of  the  element  that  opposed  the  poUcy 
of  restricting  the  Christian  message  to  the  Hebrews. 
Others  followed  his  lead,  and  soon  there  were  followers 
of  Jesus  banded  together  in  many  of  the  great  cities 
of  Asia  Minor.  Of  these  the  most  important  was 
Antioch,  the  great  trade  center  of  the  eastern  part 
of  the  Roman  Empire.  Here  a  remarkable  group  was 
gathered  in  the  infant  church,  and  here  the  necessity 
for  some  distinguishing  name  first  resulted  in  the  appli- 
cation of  the  term  "Christian." 

These  Christians  in  Antioch  were  largely  Jews  who 
possessed  the  cultural  advantages  of  that  Greek  civil- 
ization that  had  been  so  determinedly  repulsed  from 
Palestine.  They  felt  the  urge  of  all  the  lands  bordering 
the  Mediterranean,  and  it  was  not  long  before  two 
of  their  leaders  had  been  sent  to  bear  the  Christian 
message  to  their  brethren  in  the  other  cities  of  the 
Dispersion. 

Paul  takes  the  gospel  to  Rome.— The  larger  part  of 
the  book  of  Acts  deals  with  the  labors  of  the  greater 
of  these  two  Antiochan  missionaries.  This  was  Saul, 
a  native  of  Tarsus,  who  soon,  in  his  wanderings  about 
the  Roman  world,  became  known  as  Paul. 

Paul  combined  with  a  thorough  grounding  in  Jewish 
theology  the  outlook  of  a  Roman  citizen  and  the  cul- 
ture of  a  home  in  a  Greek  city.  As  a  result,  when  he 
turned  to  Christianity  he  was  fitted  to  give  the  new 
faith  its  first  formulated  doctrine,  and  to  respond  to 
the  inherent  internationalism  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus. 

So  it  was  that,  from  the  day  when  he  left  Antioch 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MESSAGE  ii 

upon  the  first  of  his  three  great  missionary  journeys, 
Paul  felt  the  call  of  his  world  so  compellingly  that 
before  he  suffered  martyrdom  he  had  seen  the  Chris- 
tian message  carried  to  the  Roman  provinces  of  Asia 
Minor,  to  the  leading  cities  of  Greece,  to  islands  such 
as  Cyprus  and  Crete,  to  imperial  Rome  and  minor 
cities  of  Italy,  and  perhaps  even  to  Spain. 

At  the  beginning  of  his  ministry  Paul  confined  his 
labors  to  the  Jews  found  in  the  cities  he  visited.  These 
provided  a  natural  constituency  in  which  to  preach 
of  one  who  claimed  to  be  the  Jewish  Messiah.  But 
when  the  Jews  refused  to  accept  his  gospel,  Paul  did 
not  hesitate  to  extend  his  invitation  to  the  Gentiles. 

After  a  brief  but  intense  struggle  he  won  the  church 
to  support  of  his  position.  When  he  died  he  left  Chris- 
tianity planted  in  the  capital  of  the  world  of  that  day, 
and  committed  to  a  pohcy  of  universalism.  So  influ- 
ential, in  fact,  had  he  been  in  rescuing  the  new  faith 
from  the  parochiahsm  threatened  by  its  Jewish  ante- 
cedents, that  some  have  claimed  that  Paul,  rather  than 
Jesus,  should  be  regarded  as  the  founder. 

The  Struggle  for  the  Mediterranean 

In  the  early  Christian  writings  that  form  the  New 
Testament,  frequent  references  will  be  found  to  the 
proposed  extension  of  the  gospel  throughout  "the 
world."  It  is  doubtful  if  the  first-century  writers 
employed  that  term  in  the  same  sense  in  which  it  would 
be  used  to-day.  Geography  was  a  very  restricted 
science  in  those  days.  In  fact,  compared  with  our 
present  geographical  knowledge,  it  remained  restricted 
for  fifteen  hundred  years  after  the  days  of  Saint  Paul. 

The  world  of  the  early  Christians. — The  world  that 
the  New  Testament  writers  knew,  and  of  which  they 


12       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

thought  when  they  employed  the  term,  was  practically 
coextensive  with  the  Roman  Empire.  The  first  phase 
of  Christian  history,  therefore,  consisted  of  the  effort 
to  evangehze  this  world.  As  wiU  be  seen  by  a  glance 
at  any  map,  the  Roman  Empire  was  composed  largely 
of  the  lands  that  bordered  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 
To  be  sure,  the  imperial  eagles  were  carried  to  Gaul, 
Germany,  and  Britain.  But  control  in  these  provinces 
was  always  disputed.  Roman  civilization  really  gripped 
only  the  lands  about  the  Mediterranean. 

The  story  of  the  first  three  hundred  years  of  Chris- 
tianity concerned  the  penetration  of  these  lands  by  the 
gospel.  It  has  been  told  in  detail  in  another  volume 
in  this  series.^  Here  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the 
campaign  Saint  Paul  launched  continued  with  increasing 
power,  despite  severe  repressive  measures,  until 
Constantine,  the  greatest  of  the  emperors  to  make  his 
capital  in  the  city  named  after  him,  Constantinople, 
placed  the  sign  of  the  cross  upon  his  imperial  banners 
and  gave  Christianity  legal  standing  as  a  permitted, 
and  even  favored,  religion. 

On  his  death-bed,  Constantine  was  baptized.  The 
year  313  is  generally  remembered  as  the  year  in  which 
Christianity  won  its  struggle  for  dominance  in  the 
Roman  Empire,  for  it  was  in  that  year  that  the  Edict 
of  Milan,  granting  toleration,  was  signed. 

Early  Christian  worship. — When  Justin  Martyr 
wrote  his  Apology,  in  the  middle  of  the  second 
century,  Christian  worship  as  he  described  it  was  a 
very  simple  thing:  "On  Sunday  a  meeting  is  held  of 
all  who  live  in  the  cities  and  villages,  and  a  section 
is  read  from  the  memoirs  of  the  Apostles  and  the 
writings  of   the   Prophets,   as   long   as   the    time   per- 

'See  The  Early  Days  of  Christianity,  The  Abingdon  Press,  by  Frederick  C.  Grant. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MESSAGE  13 

mits.  When  the  reading  has  finished,  the  president, 
in  a  discourse  (or  homily)  gives  the  admonition  and 
exhortation  to  imitate  these  noble  things.  After  this 
we  all  arise  and  offer  a  common  prayer.  At  the  close 
of  the  prayer,  as  we  have  before  described,  bread  and 
wine  and  water  are  brought.  The  president  offers 
prayer  and  thanks  for  them  according  to  his  ability, 
and  the  congregation  answers,  'Amen.'  Then  the  con- 
secrated elements  are  distributed  to  each  one  and 
partaken  of,  and  are  carried  by  the  deacons  to  the 
houses  of  the  absent.  The  wealthy  and  the  willing 
then  give  contributions  according  to  their  free  will; 
and  this  collection  is  deposited  with  the  president, 
who  therewith  supplies  orphans  and  widows,  the  poor 
and  needy,  prisoners  and  strangers,  and  takes  care  of 
all  who  are  in  want." 

The  development  of  a  church  organization. — 
While  the  Christian  message  was  thus  sweeping  around 
the  Mediterranean,  and  even  penetrating  into  Meso- 
potamia, Persia,  Media,  Parthia,  Bactria,  and  Britain, 
the  church  itself  was  developing  from  the  group  of 
single-minded  enthusiasts,  with  a  simple,  direct  form  of 
worship,  to  a  complex  organization,  with  symbolic  and 
sometimes  even  secret  rites.  In  part  this  came  from  a 
desire  to  protect  the  precious  elements  in  the  Christian 
faith  from  unworthy  outside  influences;  in  part  it  was 
the  effect  of  those  influences,  particularly  of  the  elab- 
orate rituals  of  worship  that  marked  the  many  mystery 
religions  then  competing  for  prominence  in  the  Roman 
world. 

Various  views  have  been  advanced  as  to  the  precise 
manner  in  which  this  development  from  the  simplicity 
of  apostolic  days  to  the  intricacies  of  the  established 
church    of    Constantine's    empire    took   place.      It   is 


14       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

sufficient  for  our  purpose  to  remember  that  "very 
early  in  their  existence  the  churches  required  for  their 
spiritual  life  certain  officers.  Thus  overseers  and 
teachers  were  needed  at  once  and  they  appeared  as 
bishops,  or  presbyters,  or  pastors.  The  care  of  the 
poor  and  the  proper  distribution  of  alms  led  to  the 
appointment  of  deacons.  Very  soon,  therefore,  the 
two  great  offices  of  the  early  church — the  pastorate 
and  the  diaconate — were  fixed.  .  .  .  The  very  ablest 
became  the  leader  among  his  equals,  and  gradually 
combined  several  functions  in  himself,  and  if  his  ability 
sustained  him,  he  became  the  chief  source  of  power 
and  influence  in  the  community.  .  .  . 

"Towns  became  centers  varying  in  their  influence 
according  to  their  size,  the  degree  of  their  culture,  their 
historical  position,  and  their  geographical  situation. 
Questions  too  difficult  or  of  too  general  interest  to  be 
settled  by  local  communities  were  carried  up  to  synods 
composed  of  representatives  of  all  the  communities,  and 
usually  the  ablest  man  presided  at  the  sessions  of  the 
synod.  In  the  course  of  this  process  gradually  and 
naturally  each  member  seemed  to  fall  into  his  proper 
place.  The  clergy  and  laity  are  separated,  and  ecclesi- 
astical orders  arise.  "^ 

By  the  reign  of  Constantine  this  development  had 
reached  the  point  where  the  chief  pastors  of  the  churches 
in  important  cities  were  regarded  as  bishops,  where  the 
bishops  in  such  cities  as  Antioch,  Alexandria,  and  Rome 
had  won  recognition  as  archbishops,  or  metropolitans, 
and  where  an  extended  and  standardized  form  of  wor- 
ship and  church  life  had  won  acceptance. 

A  lofty  claim. — What,  then,  was  the  condition  of  the 
Christian  Church  at  the   beginning  of  our  period  of 

1  Moncrief :  A  Short  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  F.  H.  Revell  Co.,  pp.  49,  70. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  MESSAGE  15 

study?  Justin  could  claim  that  "There  is  not  a  single  j 
race  of  human  beings,  barbarians,  Greeks,  or  whatever  I 
name  you  please  to  call  them,  nomads  or  vagrants,  or 
herdsmen  living  in  tents,  where  prayers  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  the  crucified  are  not  offered  up."  We  know 
within  what  narrow  geographical  limits  the  early  Chris- 
tian writers  were  thinking  when  they  made  such  state- 
ments, but  it  is  clear  that  by  the  opening  of  the 
fourth  century,  Christianity  had  spread  from  an  incon- 
siderable group  of  enthusiasts  within  the  Jewish  religion 
to  a  highly  organized  system  of  worship  and  doctrine 
that  had  penetrated  throughout  the  Roman  Empire, 
and  could  even  require  the  approval  of  Constantine  on 
the  throne. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  From  what  other  religion  did  Christianity  emerge, 
and  what  were  its  points  of  likeness  to  the  parent  faith? 

2.  What,  in  the  minds  of  his  fellow  countrymen,  was 
regarded  as  new  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus? 

3.  What  evidences  can  be  shown  of  the  statesmanship 
of  Saint  Paul? 

4.  Was  the  spread  of  Christianity  hastened  or  de- 
layed by  the  presence  of  Jewish  communities  in  the 
cities  of  the  Roman  Empire?  by  the  strong  government 
of  Rome?  by  the  widespread  use  of  Greek? 

5.  To  what  extent  had  Christianity  conquered  the 
world  by  the  opening  of  the  fourth  century? 

6.  What  was  the  worship  and  organization  of  the 
Christian  Church  like  in  the  days  of  Constantine? 


CHAPTER  II 

CHRISTIANITY  FACES  THE  DANGER 
OF  SUCCESS 

"Nothing  succeeds  like  success!"  quotes  one  man. 
"Perhaps;  but  nothing  is  as  dangerous  as  success," 
maintains  another,  with  a  clearer  view  of  the  lessons 
of  history. 

With  the  signing  of  the  imperial  edict  granting 
toleration,  Christianity  entered  upon  a  new  phase. 
Gone  were  the  days  when  meetings  had  to  be  held  in 
secret  places;  gone  was  the  menace  of  persecution  and 
martyrdom.  But  in  place  of  those  dangers  there  arose 
others,  more  subtle,  yet  more  destructive.  Christianity 
was  struggling  with  these  inner  perils  all  through  the 
fourth  century. 

Christianity  a  Favored  Religion 

Constantine  the  Christian.— Although  Constantine 
granted  the  Christian  Church  full  rights  in  313,  and 
became  a  candidate  for  membership  in  the  church  about 
the  time  he  founded  his  capital  at  Constantinople,  he 
was  not  actually  baptized  until  the  year  of  his  death,  337. 
However,  Christianity  was  clearly  the  favored  religion 
of  the  court  throughout  his  reign.  Although  he  re- 
tained the  title  of  pontifex  maximus,  or  high  priest 
of  the  old  pagan  worship  of  Rome,  Constantine  allowed 
only  Christian  worship  at  Constantinople  and  built 
many  churches  in  various  parts  of  his  empire.  Also, 
as  we  shall  see,  he  frequently  exercised  the  imperial 
powers  within  the  affairs  of  the  church. 

16 


THE  DANGER  OF  SUCCESS  17 

Why  did  Constantinc  thus  favor  Christianity,  break- 
ing with  the  pohcy  of  all  the  emperors  who  had  gone 
before  him?  The  story  of  his  battle  at  the  Milvian 
Bridge,  when  he  adopted  the  sign  of  the  cross,  is 
famiMar.^    But  why  was  he  ready  to  adopt  that  sign? 

We  discover  the  answer  to  that  question  when  we 
remember  that  Constantine  came  from  the  extreme 
western  part  of  the  Roman  Empire  to  the  rule  of 
the  whole.  He  felt  that  Rome  was  too  far  from  the 
center  to  make  a  proper  capital,  and  so  built  a  new 
imperial  city  where  Europe  and  Asia  met.  He  felt 
the  pressure  being  exerted  upon  the  empire  from  with- 
out by  barbarian  tribes,  and  he  saw  the  disintegration 
that  soft  living  and  loose  thinking  were  bringing  within. 
He  realized  that  some  unifying  principle  must  be  found 
if  this  huge  empire  was  to  be  held  together  much  longer, 
and  that  this  principle  must  be  moral  if  it  was  to  purge 
the  life  of  his  realm  of  its  inner  rottenness.  For  this 
reason  he  embraced  the  religion  that  had  shown  its 
power  to  mold  lives  in  every  part  of  the  empire.  Con- 
stantine's  conversion,  if  such  it  can  be  called,  was  a 
piece  of  statesmanship  of  the  highest  order. 

Baptized  pagans.— The  effect  of  the  Emperor's  con- 
version was  seen  immediately  throughout  the  empire. 
For  one  thing,  it  became  fashionable  to  be  a  Christian. 
Baptism  became,  not  the  outward  sign  of  an  inner 
spiritual  experience,  but  a  means  to  imperial  favor. 
Thousands  rushed  to  enter  the  Christian  fold. 

Probably  there  were  bishops  and  presbyters  who 
saw  in  this  great  ingathering  the  fulfillment  of  early 
Christian  prophecies  of  a  time  when  the  worship  of 
Jesus  should  be  universal.  If  they  had  not  been  dazzled 
by    appearances,    they    would    have    been    frightened 

'See,  for  example,  SchafE's  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  ii,  2o5. 


i8       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

rather  than  have  rejoiced.  For  these  new  church 
members  were  only  so  many  baptized  pagans,  who 
brought  with  them  to  the  fellowship  of  the  church  all 
their  old  debauchery,  worldliness,  and  an  utter  lack  of 
any  appreciation  of  the  meaning  of  the  message  or 
life  of  Jesus.  Far  from  being  a  blessing,  the  addition 
of  these  unspiritualized  thousands  must  be  regarded  as 
a  major  cause  of  the  stagnation  that  settled  upon  the 
church,  and  remained  during  the  centuries  we  know 
as  the  Dark  Ages. 

The  Church  as  a  Political  Instrument 

The  "catholic"  church  idea  favored. — Constantine, 
as  we  have  seen,  saw  in  Christianity  a  unifying  force 
to  tie  his  scattered  realms  together.  But  this  required 
that  the  church  itself  be  a  unit.  And  the  Emperor  had 
not  gone  far  in  his  relations  with  the  new  religion  before 
he  found  that  this  was  far  from  the  case. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  here  to  go  into  the  details  of 
the  struggles  over  doctrinal  points  that  were  to  furnish 
so  much  of  the  history  of  the  church  during  ensuing 
centuries.  Our  course  is  concerned  with  the  spread 
of  Christianity,  and  Christianity  has  done  little  spread- 
ing while  all  its  energies  have  been  devoted  to  theolog- 
ical disputations.  But  we  can  see,  here  in  the  reign 
of  Constantine,  the  beginning  of  the  struggle  between 
"catholic"  and  "heretic"  that  was  to  result  in  wars, 
exiles,  and  executions,  and  the  branching  out  of  Chris- 
tian truth  (and  sometimes  error)  in  unexpected  ways 
and  to  unexpected  places. 

The  idea  of  a  "catholic"  church  came  to  the  fore 
as  Christianity  pressed  toward  power  in  the  third 
century.  The  name,  which  means  all-embracing,  defines 
the   theory.     It   was  precisely   such   a   conception  as 


THE  DANGER  OF  SUCCESS  19 

Constantine  was  seeking.  It  meant  to  bind  all  congre- 
gations in  all  lands  into  one  body,  acknowledging  the 
authority  of  one  statement  of  truth,  and  excluding 
from  the  fellowship  and  privileges  of  true  Christians  all 
who  might,  in  any  detail,  differ  from  this  statement. 

The  Emperor  was  quick  to  make  these  privileges  of 
the  "catholic"  church  worth  considering.  For  not 
only  were  great  churches  built  and  the  basilicas  (build- 
ings something  akin  to  a  courthouse)  of  the  Roman 
cities  turned  over  to  the  Christian  congregations,  but 
the  clergy  were  exempted  from  certain  taxes,  were 
permitted  to  receive  bequests,  were  given  certain 
judicial  powers,  and  were  licensed  to  harry  to  the  point 
of  death  any  heretics  who  taught  in  disagreement  to 
the  accepted,  or  orthodox,  doctrine. 

Catholic  versus  heretic. — It  is  interesting  to  see  how 
Constantine,  in  his  effort  to  weld  the  empire  through 
a  catholic  church,  brought  on  the  first  clear-cut  division 
between  orthodoxy  and  heresy.  About  the  year  320 
reports  were  brought  to  the  Emperor  of  an  uproar 
that  was  being  fomented  in  and  about  the  city  of  Alex- 
andria by  a  dispute  between  the  bishop  Alexander  and 
one  of  the  clergy,  Anus.  Alexander  found  a  champion 
in  a  young  priest,  Athanasius,  and  he  waged  wordy 
warfare  for  years  with  Arius  over  the  question  as  to 
whether  the  Father  and  the  Son  in  the  Christian  Trinity 
were  identical  in  nature,  or  whether  the  Father  had 
created  the  Son,  thus  making  the  latter  subordinate 
to  the  former.  It  was  really,  as  can  be  seen,  a  struggle 
to  define  the  place  of  Jesus  in  Christian  thinking,  and 
the  controversy  soon  raged  throughout  all  the  eastern 
half  of  the  empire. 

Constantine  was  no  theologian.     He  did  not  sense 
the  gravity  of  the  issues  at  stake.     It  seemed  to  him 


20       THE  SPREAD  OR  CHRISTIANITY 

that  a  word  from  the  throne  ought  to  be  sufficient  to 
stop  all  this  uproar,  and  accordingly  he  wrote  Bishop 
Alexander  as  follows:  "There  is  a  new  discord.  And 
there  is  no  real  ground  for  it.  The  subjects  in  dispute 
are  trivial.  I  offer  myself  as  an  arbiter.  ...  It  is  a  pity 
that  the  question  was  ever  raised.  No  Christianity 
requires  the  investigation  of  such  subjects;  they  arise 
from  the  disputatious  cavils  of  ill-employed  leisure. 
Few  can  understand  these  difficult  matters  in  which 
there  ought  to  be  mutual  tolerance.  In  reality  you 
are  agreed.  Return  to  your  former  charity  and  restore 
to  me  my  quiet  days  and  tranquil  nights,  or  you  will 
force  me  to  weep  and  to  despair  of  any  personal  peace."^ 

A  Christian  creed  adopted. — Unfortunately  for 
Constantine's  sleep,  it  took  more  than  an  imperial 
letter  to  end  this  debate.  A  church  gathering  in  Alex- 
andria condemned  Arius,  and  denied  him  the  right 
to  preach  his  doctrines  in  the  churches.  So  he  took 
to  the  open  air,  set  his  ideas  to  music,  and  soon  had 
the  streets  and  markets  resounding  with  popular  songs 
setting  forth  his  position. 

Finally  Constantine  determined  to  end  it  all  by 
gathering  the  bishops  of  the  church  in  a  general  council 
that  was  held  at  Nicea,  about  twenty-five  miles  from 
his  capital.  We  cannot  describe  this  gathering  in 
detail,  although  it  must  have  been  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  in  Christian  history.  An  early  Christian 
historian,  Eusebius,  tells  how  the  three  hundred  and 
eighteen  bishops,  all  but  ten  of  whom  were  from  the 
eastern  part  of  the  empire,  came  with  their  attendants 
as  fast  as  they  could  run,  in  a  frenzy  of  excitement 
and  enthusiasm.  And  another  sketches  them:  ''The 
old  and  the  young,  the  learned  and  the  unlearned — 

>From  Socrates,  Ecclesiaslical  History,  quoted  by  Moncrief,  op.  cit. 


THE  DANGER  OF  SUCCESS  21 

from  city,  from  forest  and  from  caves  in  the  mountains. 
Many  of  them  came  bearing  the  marks  of  Diocletian's 
persecution,  with  eyeless  sockets,  scarred  faces,  twisted 
and  withered  limbs,  and  paralyzed  hands. "^ 

Under  the  presidency  of  an  emperor  who  was  not 
yet  even  a  baptized  Christian,  and  certainly  knew  but 
little  of  the  issues  at  stake,  this  gathering  proceeded, 
after  long  debate,  to  condemn  the  Arian  position,  and 
to  draw  up  the  first  generally  accepted  Christian  creed. 

Not  as  a  complete  or  final  statement  of  Christian 
teaching,  but  as  a  first  attempt  at  such  a  statement, 
it  is  interesting  to  study  what  those  three  hundred  and 
eighteen  bishops  of  the  fourth  century  (some  of  them  with 
mental  reservations)  signed  as  embodying  their  creed : 

We  believe  in  one  God  the  Father,  Almighty,  Maker 
of  all  things  visible  and  invisible;  and  in  one  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  begotten  of  the  Father,  only 
begotten,  that  is,  of  the  substance  of  the  Father,  God 
from  God,  Light  from  Light,  very  God  from  very  God, 
begotten  not  made,  of  the  same  substance  with  the 
Father,  through  whom  all  things  were  made,  who  for 
us  men  and  our  salvation,  came  down  and  was  incarnate, 
and  became  man,  suffered  and  rose  again  the  third  day, 
ascended  to  heaven  and  will  come  to  judge  the  living 
and  the  dead;  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Those  who  say  that  there  was  when  He  was  not,  and 
that  He  was  made  from  things  that  are  not  or  from 
another  substance  or  nature,  saying  that  the  Son  of 
God  is  changed  or  changeable,  the  Holy,  Catholic  and 
Apostolic  church  anathematizes. 

Christianity  Outside  the  Roman  Empire 

Missionary  effort  by  heretics. — One  unexpected 
result  of  this  Council  of  Nicea,  which  placed  the  curse 

'Moncrief,  Op.  cit.,  p.  134. 


22       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

of  the  orthodox  church  on  the  followers  of  Anus,  was 
the  beginning  of  missionary  work  among  the  barbarian 
tribes  of  central  and  northern  Europe  who  were  so 
soon  to  overwhelm  the  western  part  of  the  Roman 
Empire. 

Thrust  out  of  the  churches  where  the  authority  of 
the  Emperor  was  supreme,  the  Arians  went  preaching 
along  the  northern  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  where 
some  were  captured  by  Goths.  These,  under  the 
leadership  of  a  missionary  named  Ulfilas,  were  con- 
verted to  an  Arian  form  of  Christianity,  and  later  from 
the  Goths  the  gospel,  in  this  form,  spread  to  the  Vandals. 
So  it  happened  that  when  these  peoples  swept  down 
over  the  cities  of  Italy,  they  came  not  as  utter  bar- 
barians, but  as  Christians,  the  shortcomings  of  whose 
practice  was  probably  of  less  detriment  to  their  faith 
than  the  degenerate  supineness  of  the  Christians  they 
conquered. 

Before  the  end  of  the  fifth  century  Christianity  had 
reached  the  Franks,  that  race  destined  to  decide  the 
fate  of  Europe.  But  it  was  Catholic  Christianity  that 
won  the  Franks,  and  so,  finally,  overcame  the  Arian 
influence  among  Goths  and  Vandals. 

The  last  effort  of  paganism. — We  cannot  close  this 
chapter  without  mentioning  the  Emperor  Juhan,  and 
his  futile  attempt  to  revive  the  old  worships.  Julian 
was  a  nephew  of  Constantine,  who  came  to  the  throne 
in  361,  after  the  sons  of  Constantine  had  made  a  failure 
of  their  attempts  at  rule.  A  man  of  high  character, 
Julian  was  disgusted  at  the  hypocrisy  he  saw  in  those 
who  crowded  into  the  Christian  Church  when  it  obtained 
imperial  favor.  He  repressed  the  churches  and  Chris- 
tian clergy,  and  did  what  he  could  to  restore  the  pagan 
temples  and  philosophy. 


THE  DANGER  OF  SUCCESS  23 

Had  Julian  lived,  he  probably  would  have  further 
purified  the  church  by  another  great  persecution.  But 
he  fell  in  battle  two  years  after  ascending  the  throne. 
Perhaps  he  realized,  before  he  died,  the  futility  of  his 
efforts  to  destroy  the  march  of  the  church  to  power. 
At  any  rate,  tradition  represents  him  as  crying  out 
at  the  moment  of  his  death,  "Thou  hast  conquered, 
O  GaUlaean!" 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  In  what  way  was  the  conversion  of  Constantine 
a  good  thing  for  the  cause  of  Christianity?  In  what 
way  did  it  work  harm? 

2.  Why  did  Constantine  hope  to  find  help  in  solidify- 
ing his  empire  in  Christianity? 

3.  Has  heresy  helped  or  hindered  Christian  advance? 

4.  What  do  you  believe  to  be  the  best  method  of 
dealing  with  heresy? 

5.  What  would  you  select  as  the  important  ideas  in 
the  Nicean  creed?  Why  are  these  important?  Do  you 
know  any  creed  to-day  that  includes  ideas  from  the 
Nicean  creed? 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  BREAK-UP  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE 

We  come  now  to  one  of  the  periods  when  there  was 
little  advance  on  the  part  of  the  church.  Many  have 
even  dismissed  it  as  a  time  of  retreat.  To  appreciate 
this  tragic  time  we  must  put  ourselves  in  the  place 
of  the  Christians  who  Hved  within  what  had  been  the 
western  part  of  the  Roman  Empire  between  the  fifth 
and  the  ninth  centuries. 

Let  us  suppose  that  we  were  the  immediate  descend- 
ants of  the  men  to  whom  had  been  given  that  mighty- 
vision  of  a  world  conquered  by  a  new  religion.  Let 
us  suppose  that  the  courage  and  faith  of  our  fathers 
had  brought  this  vision  to  fulfillment  despite  awful 
persecution.  Then  let  us  suppose  that,  just  as  the 
victory  seemed  won,  as  persecution  ceased  and  our 
churches  replaced  the  heathen  temples,  this  whole 
world  we  had  been  struggling  to  convert  came  crashing 
down  in  ruin  about  us.  And,  through  the  din  of  that 
disaster,  suppose  we  heard  voices  declaring  that  we 
had  been  guilty  of  destroying  this  civilization.  Would 
it  not  seem  as  if  we  were  in  the  midst  of  some  gigantic 
nightmare,  and  would  it  not  be  natural  if  our  forces 
halted  and  turned  from  vigorous  advance  to  personal 
introspection? 

The  Long  Battle  Line 

Maps  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  the  days  of  the  early 
Caesars  show  it  stretched  out  to  include  most  of  the 

24 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE    25 

then  known  world.  But  this  extent  was  won  only  by 
the  incessant  valor  of  the  legions,  and  even  this  did 
not  suffice  to  hold  back  the  tribes  of  ''barbarians" 
forever.  By  the  time  of  the  great  Emperor  Marcus 
Aurelius — that  is,  before  the  end  of  the  second  century 
— until  the  empire  of  the  West  had  been  swept  away, 
Rome  was  engaged  in  a  battle  to  preserve  her  existence. 

In  many  ways  this  struggle  resembled  that  of  the 
World  War.  In  the  World  War,  as  you  will  remember, 
the  so-called  Central  Empires  faced  the  Allies  on  a 
hne  that  ran  from  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  later  the  Bos- 
phorus,  to  the  North  Sea.  The  Central  Empires  found 
it  necessary  to  withstand  smashes,  sometimes  in 
Flanders,  sometimes  in  Asia  Minor,  and  sometimes 
in  the  Balkans.  Finally  they  proved  unable  to  hold 
off  this  continuous  pounding  along  such  an  extended  Hne. 

An  early  World  War. — For  a  rough  approximation 
to  the  battering  that  finally  destroyed  the  western 
Roman  Empire,  take  this  picture  of  the  fighting  in  the 
recent  World  War  and  turn  it  just  around.  Again  run 
the  hne  of  battle  from  the  Bosphorus  to  the  North  Sea. 
Your  map  again  shows  you  one  civilization  defending 
itself  in  arms  along  the  natural  entrenchments  pro- 
vided by  the  Danube  and  Rhine.  The  great  difference 
is  that,  in  this  struggle  of  fifteen  centuries  ago,  the 
center  of  defense  was  south  of  the  line,  rather  than  north. 

Who  were  the  fighters?  South  of  the  line  we  naturally 
say,  the  Romans.  But  this  judgment  must  be  safe- 
guarded by  the  reminder  that  the  old  Roman  traditions 
had  disintegrated;  that  Rome  now  hired  her  defenders; 
and  that  the  men  who  marched  behind  her  eagles 
were,  as  often  as  not,  German  barbarians  who  would 
spend  their  time  when  not  fighting  on  the  frontiers 
fighting  with  each  other  for  the  privilege  of  ruling  the 


26       THE   SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

supine  Romans.  North  of  the  line  we  see  principally 
Goths  and  Franks  and  those  nomads  who  brought  such 
terror  from  the  steppes  of  Asia,  the  Huns. 

The  barbarians  break  through. — The  Roman  dis- 
missed all  men  outside  the  limits  of  his  citizenship  with 
the  contemptuous  title,  "barbarian."  And  there  was 
plenty  in  the  character  of  these  tribes  that  kept  smash- 
ing at  the  long  Danube-Rhine  line  in  accord  with  the 
idea  that  we  have  given  the  adjective  "barbarous." 
However,  great  as  were  their  shortcomings,  they  pos- 
sessed some  tremendous  virtues.  No  one  ever  ques- 
tioned their  courage;  they  seemed  able  to  call  forth 
physical  strength  for  any  undertaking;  their  daring 
knew  no  bounds.  And  the  life  of  mankind  will  never 
advance  fast  or  far  unless  those  quaHties  are  in  evidence. 
The  Rome  that  the  barbarians  smashed  had  largely 
lost  them. 

The  first  break  in  the  long  line  came  only  forty  years 
after  the  passing  of  Constantine.  It  was  a  result, 
curiously  enough,  of  an  exhibition  of  strength  by  another 
great  civilization  that  the  Romans  scarcely  knew 
existed.  For  on  the  other  side  of  the  Continent  of  Asia 
the  Chinese  thrust  an  impregnable  defense  before  the 
advance  of  wild  tribes  from  the  northern  steppes.  These 
Huns  were  thus  forced  to  turn  west,  and  came  pushing 
across  what  is  to-day  Siberia  and  Russia  until  they 
forced  a  smaller  people,  the  West  Goths,  to  cross  the 
Danube  for  safety.  Immediately  the  Emperor  Valens 
came  marching  to  repulse  the  attack  on  the  sacred  line, 
but  near  Adrianople,  in  378,  the  Roman  army  was 
annihilated  by  the  Goths  and  the  Emperor  killed.  In 
the  language  that  became  so  familiar  to  us  during  the 
World  War,  this  was  the  first  "break  through"  by  the 
barbarians. 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE  2^ 

Rome  in  German  hands. — Now  commenced  a  grim 
struggle.  For  a  time  it  would  seem  as  if  the  empire, 
under  determined  emperors  and  by  the  help  of  mer- 
cenary bands,  would  be  able  to  hold  off  further  invasion, 
and  then  the  hammering  at  the  long  line  would  begin 
again,  and  the  invaders  would  come  closer.  To  the 
West  Goths  were  added  the  East  Goths,  and  to  these 
the  Vandals.  All  these  were  Germanic  tribes,  and  all 
felt  behind  them  the  pressure  of  the  Huns. 

To  make  the  problem  of  defense  harder  for  the  em- 
perors, these  barbarians  were  always  on  the  move. 
If  they  struck  one  time  in  the  Balkans,  they  were  likely 
to  strike  next  in  what  is  now  France.  By  the  opening 
of  the  fifth  century  the  West  Goths  were  pressing 
into  northern  Italy.  By  410  they  had  cleared  from 
before  their  path  the  last  of  the  hired  bands  upon  which 
Rome  rehed  for  salvation,  and,  under  the  leadership 
of  Alaric,  took  what  had  been  proudly  called  the  Eternal 
City. 

Now  came  a  period  of  vast  confusion.  These  German 
tribes  had  no  idea  of  settling  down  to  develop  the 
country  they  had  conquered.  The  West  Goths  wan- 
dered about  through  Gaul  and  then  over  into  Spain, 
despoiling  as  they  went.  In  Spain  they  fought  the 
Vandals,  who  had  moved  south  from  the  shores  of  the 
Baltic,  and  the  Vandals,  when  defeated,  crossed  the 
Straits  of  Gibraltar  to  found  a  kingdom  in  north  Africa. 
Later  they  sailed  from  Africa  to  sack  Rome,  an  adven- 
ture that  appealed  to  all  the  loose-footed  tribes  who 
now  dominated  Europe. 

Meanwhile  the  Huns  came  pushing  on.  Romans  and 
West  Goths  combined  to  defeat  them  in  France,  but 
they  still  had  strength  left  to  sweep  down  over  Italy 
to  the  gates  of  Rome.    Under  their  leader,  Attila,  they 


28       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

devastated  the  country  in  a  manner  that  has  made 
their  name  dreadful  during  all  the  succeeding  centuries. 
But,  for  reasons  which  are  now  obscure,  when  the  Huns 
reached  Rome  they  were  persuaded  by  the  head  of  the 
Christian  Church  there,  to  turn  back  and,  their  leader 
dying  the  next  year,  they  soon  passed  off  the  stage  of 
great  events. 

On  the  Ruins  of  the  Western  Empire 

In  all  this  confusion  the  western  Roman  Empire 
passed  away.  To  be  sure,  for  centuries  after  men 
tried  to  keep  up  the  fiction  of  being  ruled  from  Con- 
stantinople, but  the  real  Roman  Empire,  that  came 
to  birth  with  Augustus  Caesar,  that  pushed  its  roads 
and  its  laws  and  its  officers  and  its  teachers  and  its 
literature  and  its  language  and  its  taxation  and  all 
the  other  evidences  of  its  power  throughout  western 
Europe,  was  a  thing  of  the  past.  Just  when  it  died  we 
need  not,  dogmatically,  say.  No  single  date  can  cover 
so  stupendous  an  event. 

The  kingdoms  of  the  conquerors. — With  the  pass- 
ing of  the  last  of  the  emperors  in  Rome,  western  Europe 
became  a  battle  ground  for  the  Germanic  tribes,  until 
finally  the  Franks,  under  Clovis,  asserted  their  superior 
power.  These  were  the  days  that  men  remember  as 
the  Dark  Ages,  and  they  persisted  until  the  great 
warrior,  Charles  Martel,  broke  the  Moorish  invasion 
at  the  battle  of  Tours,  more  than  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  after  the  dethronement  of  the  last  emperor 
in  Rome.  A  few  years  after  Charles  Martel  saved 
Europe  from  the  Moslems  his  grandson  became  king 
of  the  Franks.  He  was  that  Charles  the  Great  who 
was  to  lead  Europe  from  the  disorder  of  her  Dark 
Ages  into  the  feudal  order  of  her  mediaeval  years. 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE    29 

Charlemagne. — The  first  part  of  the  reign  of 
Charlemagne  was  given  to  conquest.  The  Saxons 
proved  able  to  withstand  for  years,  but  finally  sub- 
mitted. Then,  at  the  request  of  the  Pope,  the  Lombard 
kingdom  in  northern  Italy  was  conquered.  Later 
Charles  subdued  the  Slavs,  who  touched  his  Saxon 
frontiers,  the  Bohemians,  and  even  established  his  rule 
over  a  part  of  northern  Spain.  So  it  was  but  natural 
that,  on  Christmas  Day  in  the  year  800,  as  Charlemagne 
was  kneeling  in  prayer  in  Saint  Peter's  Church  in 
Rome,  the  Pope  should  have  put  upon  his  head  a  crown 
and  proclaimed  him  "Emperor  of  the  Romans."  Upon 
the  ruins  of  the  earlier  empire  another  had  been  founded 
that  was  to  last,  with  varying  fortunes,  until  the  days 
of  Napoleon. 

But  it  was  of  immense  significance,  as  we  shall  see 
later,  that  the  Emperor  should  have  been  crowned  as  he 
was. 

Christianity  and  a  Smashed  World 

And  what  of  Christianity  in  all  these  confused  cen- 
turies? Among  the  Christians  of  the  Roman  Empire 
a  feeling  of  despair  seemed  at  first  to  triumph.  They 
saw  the  settled  order  of  things  being  swept  away  by 
men  who,  although  they  had  been  touched  by  Christian 
preaching,  were  still  "barbarians."  They  had  been 
looking,  from  the  first  days  of  the  church,  for  the  time 
when  their  rehgion  should  triumph  in  Rome,  believing 
that  then  Christ  would  return  in  person  to  reign.  Now 
they  saw  that  dream  of  earthly  glory  fall  in  ruin. 

Worse  still,  there  were  plenty  who  had  not  embraced 
the  new  faith  who  were  loudly  declaring  that  it  was 
the  decay  of  the  belief  in  the  ancient  gods  and  the  end- 
ing of  the  worship  of  the  Emperor  that  had  been  respon- 


30       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

sible  for  the  downfall  of  the  state.     Within  and  with- 
out Christians  felt  themselves  dismayed. 

"The  City  of  God." — We  find  a  remarkable  evidence 
of  this  condition  in  a  book  written  at  that  time  by 
Augustine,  called  The  City  oj  God.  Augustine  was  a 
Christian  from  North  Africa,  converted  in  Milan,  and 
a  man  of  such  piety  and  mental  vigor  that  his  influence 
placed  him  at  the  head  of  the  Christian  teachers  of 
his  day  and  has  persisted  through  the  ages. 

During  the  dark  days  when  Rome  was  falling  before 
the  barbarian  hordes  Augustine  wrote  this  book  to 
prove,  first,  that  Christianity  was  not  responsible  for 
these  sorrows,  because  the  old  gods  had  failed  to  give 
Rome  strength,  and,  second,  that  the  ultimate  Chris- 
tian goal  is  a  city  (or  state)  made  up  of  those  who  are 
saved.  As  the  only  means  of  salvation  was  then  con- 
ceived to  be  membership  in  the  catholic  church,  this 
was  equivalent  to  saying  that  the  organized  church 
was  the  goal  of  history,  and  must  ultimately  rule  the 
world. 

Christians  withdraw  from  the  world. — The  result 
of  such  teaching  was  to  induce  Christians  to  withdraw 
more  and  more  from  the  affairs  of  everyday  Hfe.  Long 
before  this,  in  the  eastern  empire,  men  had  formed 
the  habit  of  going  off  into  deserts  as  hermits  or  gather- 
ing in  monastic  colonies,  where  days  were  spent  in 
meditation  and  prayer,  apart  from  the  confusion  and 
cares  of  life.  The  influence  of  Augustine  combined 
with  the  despair  of  the  age  to  spread  this  same  move- 
ment in  the  West.  Here,  to  be  sure,  there  was  a  healthier 
tone  in  monastic  life  than  in  the  East.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  western  monasteries,  known  as  monks,  worked 
as  well  as  prayed.  There  was  very  little  of  the  foolish 
and  even  harmful  asceticism  such  as  was  shown  in  the 


BREAK-UP  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE    31 

East  when  Simeon  the  Stylite  climbed  his  column  and 
perched  there  as  an  act  of  worship  for  thirty  years. 

The  contribution  of  the  monasteries. — It  is  easy  to 
criticize  the  monasteries.  In  this  day  we  do  not  greatly 
appreciate  a  type  of  religion  that  is  constantly  pointed 
toward  the  salvation  of  one's  own  soul  while  ignoring 
the  needs  of  others.  At  the  same  time  it  is  clear  that 
but  for  the  teaching,  studying,  and  copying  of  manu- 
scripts that  went  on  in  these  monasteries  during  the 
dark  and  upset  years  of  which  we  have  been  speaking, 
the  last  bit  of  learning  would  have  died  out  in  Europe. 

Learning  fell  to  a  low  enough  ebb,  as  it  was.  Even 
the  best  of  the  monks  had  to  acknowledge  that  he 
could  not  write  good  Latin,  and  outside  the  clergy 
there  was  almost  complete  illiteracy.  Charlemagne 
stood  out  above  his  contemporaries  because,  after 
infinite  effort,  he  learned  to  sign  his  name.  He  never 
reached  the  point  where  he  could  read  or  write.  The 
only  reason  why  all  the  learning  of  the  past,  the  philos- 
ophy of  Greece,  the  poetry  and  prose  of  Rome,  together 
with  the  Christian  scriptures,  was  not  utterly  lost  in 
those  days  was  because,  in  monasteries  left  at  peace 
from  the  general  fighting,  gentle  monkish  souls  pre- 
served these  treasures,  even  when  they  could  not  fully 
comprehend  them. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  Compare  the  battle  line  in  the  World  War  with  the 
frontier  defended  by  the  later  western  Roman  Empire. 

2.  What  suggestion  of  the  unity  of  all  history,  and  so 
of  all  men,  is  there  in  the  presence  of  the  Huns  in  the 
break-up  of  the  Roman  Empire? 

3.  Would  the  world  have  been  better  off  if  the  bar- 
barian invasion  had  been  repulsed?  If  so,  why?  If 
not,  why  not? 


32       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

4.  What  passed  out  of  the  life  of  Europe  when  the 
Roman  Empire  fell? 

5.  Give  a  sketch  of  the  life  of  Charlemagne,    Upon 
what  principles  did  he  proceed  to  found  his  empire? 

6.  Was  monasticism  a  proper  form  of  Christian  life 
diuing  the  age  in  which  it  came  into  being?     Is  it  still? 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  WINNING  OF  NORTHERN  EUROPE 

We  have  seen  the  despair  that  came  upon  men  in 
the  Roman  Empire  as  that  civilization  fell  before  the 
assaults  of  the  barbarians,  and  Europe  passed  into 
what  have  been  called  the  Dark  Ages.  Instead  of 
the  impulse  that  sent  the  eariy  Christians  everywhere 
preaching  we  have  seen  men  who  would  be  religious 
withdraw  into  monasteries  and  the  cells  of  hermits. 

But  was  there  no  missionary  activity  during  these 
centuries?  Indeed  there  was.  For  while  the  Roman 
Empire  was  passing,  and  the  church  about  the 
Mediterranean  was  suffering,  elsewhere  Christianity  was 
finding  new  sources  of  power  as  it  tasted  the  fresh 
energies  of  the  young  peoples  who  were  rising  to  the 
control  of  western  Europe. 

In  its  effect  upon  later  world  history  this  was  one 
of  the  most  important  periods  of  missionary  advance, 
for  it  saw  Christianity  spread  through  northern  Europe. 
Many  of  us  will  study  in  this  chapter  the  story  of  the 
coming  of  the  message  of  Jesus  to  our  own  ancestors. 

The  Gospel  and  the  Conquerors  of  Rome 

As  was  told  in  a  previous  chapter  (see  Chapter  II) 
the  Goths  and  Vandals  who  swept  away  what  was 
left  of  the  western  Roman  Empire  in  the  fifth  century 
were  not  utter  pagans.  They  had  been  reached  by 
the  Arian  form  of  Christianity  preached  by  the  great 
missionary,  Ulfilas,  and  when  they  poured  down  into 

33 


34       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Italy  they  were  able  to  get  along  on  comparatively 
peaceful  terms  with  the  churches  they  found  there. 

Moreover,  Ulfilas  had  given  them  the  foundations  of 
a  culture,  when  he  reduced  their  language  to  writing, 
inventing  a  Gothic  alphabet  and  translating  most  of 
the  Bible  into  this  tongue.  (It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  the  moment  a  Christian  missionary  began  to 
work  beyond  the  hmits  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  in 
the  midst  of  which  Christianity  had  grown,  he  turned 
to  that  work  of  translation  which  has  in  later  centuries 
placed  Christian  missionaries  in  the  vanguard  of  cul- 
tural transformations  the  world  around.  To-day 
missionaries  are  still  inventing  languages  for  the  same 
cause  that  inspired  Ulfilas,  and  so  bringing  the  birth 
of  a  literature  to  young  peoples.) 

The  gospel  and  the  Franks. — Christianity  ap- 
proached the  Franks,  who  were  finally  to  rule  western 
Europe,  through  a  man  of  far  different  spirit  than 
the  gentle  Ulfilas.  Martin  of  Tours  was  a  fighter, 
and  marched  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  militant  monks 
who  demolished  pagan  temples  and  felled  sacred  groves, 
and  would  by  violence  have  swept  the  Franks  into  the 
kingdom. 

The  method  did  not  prove  immediately  successful, 
but,  after  a  century  of  effort,  when  King  Clovis  found 
himself  hard-pressed  in  battle,  he  called  upon  the 
Christian  God,  won,  and  returned  home  to  be  baptized. 
When  he  underwent  the  rite  he  took  with  him  three 
thousand  of  his  soldiers,  and  from  that  time  on  fought 
as  an  orthodox,  or  Catholic,  Christian,  until  he  had 
wiped  out  the  last  vestige  of  the  heterodox,  or  Arian, 
belief  in  western  Europe. 

Conversions  en  masse. — With  this  baptism  of 
Clovis  and  his  soldiers  we  see  the  beginning  of  a  prac- 


THE  WINNING  OF  NORTHERN  EUROPE    35 

tice  that  was  to  bring  great  spiritual  loss  to  Christianity, 
namely,  the  baptism,  often  for  material  motives,  of  large 
numbers  who  had  slight  knowledge  of  the  significance 
of  the  rite  or  the  sort  of  community  into  which  they 
were  supposed  to  be  entering. 

Here,  for  example,  is  one  such  instance,  as  recorded 
by  a  writer  of  that  period:  "There  is  a  barbarous 
nation  which  have  their  abode  beyond  the  river  Rhine; 
they  are  called  the  Burgundians.  These  people  lead 
a  quiet  life;  they  are  for  the  most  part  woodcutters. 
The  nation  of  the  Hunni,  by  making  continual  inroads 
upon  these  people,  frequently  destroyed  many  of  them. 
The  Burgundians,  therefore,  reduced  to  great  straits, 
flew  for  refuge  to  no  man,  but  resolved  to  intrust  them- 
selves to  some  god  to  protect  them ;  and  having  seriously 
considered  with  themselves  that  the  God  of  the  Romans 
did  vigorously  assist  and  defend  those  that  feared  him, 
they  all  came  over  to  the  faith  of  Christ.  Repairing, 
accordingly,  to  one  of  the  cities  of  Gaul,  they  made 
request  to  the  bishop  that  they  might  receive  Chris- 
tian baptism.  The  bishop  ordered  them  to  fast  seven 
days,  in  which  interval  he  instructed  them  in  the  grounds 
of  the  faith,  and  on  the  eighth  day  baptized  and  so 
dismissed  them.  Being  encouraged  thereby,  they 
marched  out  against  the  Hunni,  and  were  not  deceived 
in  their  expectation;  for  the  king  of  the  Hunni  having 
burst  himself  in  the  night  by  overeating,  the  Burgundians 
fell  upon  his  people,  destitute  of  a  commander,  and, 
few  though  they  were,  engaged  and  conquered  very 
many.  For  the  Burgundians,  being  in  number  only 
three  thousand,  destroyed  about  ten  thousand  of  the 
Hunni.  And  from  that  time  the  nation  of  the  Bur- 
gundians became  zealous  professors  of  Christianity."^ 

*  Socrates  the  Scholar,  quoted  by  Hodgkins,  Via  Christ*,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  p.  69. 


36       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

About  all  that  is  needed  to  make  such  a  narrative  com- 
plete would  be  the  statement  that  those  of  the  Hunni 
who  were  lucky  enough  to  escape  likewise  promptly 
sought  baptism. 

It  takes  little  imagination  for  us  to  realize  what 
sort  of  Christians  converts  of  that  type  must  have 
made,  and  we  need  to  bear  in  mind,  in  all  our  study 
of  this  period,  whether  conversion  was  or  was  not  of 
this  sort.  Where  it  was  we  cannot  expect  much  in  the 
way  of  ethical  transformation. 

Christianity  in  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  England 

After  the  conversion  of  the  Franks  the  next  great 
advance  of  Christianity  came  when,  in  the  fifth  cen- 
tury, a  Scottish  lad  who  had  been  carried  into  cap- 
tivity in  Ireland,  after  escaping,  returned  to  that  island 
with  this  gospel. 

Patrick,  who  won  Ireland. — No  more  romantic 
career  is  to  be  found  in  Christian  history  than  that 
of  this  apostle  to  the  Irish,  Saint  Patrick.  He  had 
almost  reached  middle  age,  having  undergone  a  second 
captivity  and  having  spent  years  studying  the  Chris- 
tian institutions  of  Gaul,  before  he  was  able  to  respond 
to  the  appeal  of  the  voices  from  the  Irish  coast  that 
kept  sounding  in  his  ears,  "We  beseech  thee,  child  of 
God,  come  and  again  walk  among  us."  He  faced  the 
fierce  opposition  of  the  Druids,  chanting  a  hymn  that 
deserves  to  rank  among  the  finest  Christian  poetry: 

"May  Christ,  I  pray, 
Protect  me  to-day 
Against  poison  and  fire, 
Against  drowning  and  wounding; 
That  so,  in  his  grace  abounding, 
I  may  earn  the  preacher's  hire. 


THE  WINNING  OF  NORTHERN  EUROPE    37 

"Christ,  as  a  light, 

Illutnine  and  guide  me ! 
Christ,  as  a  shield,  o'ershadow  and  cover  me ! 
Christ  be  under  me !     Christ  be  over  me ! 

Christ  be  beside  me 

On  left  hand  and  right! 
Christ  be  before  me,  behind  me,  about  me! 
Christ  be  this  day  within  and  without  me ! 

"Christ,  the  lowly  and  meek, 

Christ,  the  All-Powerful,  be 
In  the  heart  of  each  to  whom  I  speak, 
In  the  mouth  of  each  who  speaks  to  me ! 

In  all  who  draw  near  me, 

Or  see  me  or  hear  me." 

It  is  no  wonder  that  a  man  with  a  spirit  of  that  kind 
soon  won  Ireland.  Then,  with  insight  into  what  was 
demanded  if  a  permanent  and  far-reaching  change 
was  to  come  in  the  lives  of  his  converts,  Saint  Patrick 
opened  schools  everywhere,  and  had  boys  and  girls 
taught  the  alphabet  he  invented.  It  is  notable  that, 
even  at  that  date,  his  schools  were  coeducational,  and 
that  he  gave  women  a  large  part  in  the  work  of  evan- 
gelizing the  country.  The  most  renowned  of  these 
women  who  labored  by  the  side  of  Saint  Patrick  was 
Saint  Bridget. 

The  gospel  in  Scotland. — Saint  Patrick  was  one  of 
those  men  who  have  had  an  influence  that  has  extended 
visibly  far  beyond  their  own  personal  reach.  For  not 
only  did  he  transform  Ireland,  giving  it  a  type  of  piety 
and  a  standard  of  culture  better  than  that  of  any  other 
part  of  the  Europe  of  his  day,  but  he  inspired  a  whole 
line  of  Christian  heroes,  who  ultimately  took  the  gospel 
through  all  the  rest  of  northern  Europe. 

Scotland,  as  the  nearest,  was  the  first  land  to  receive 


38       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

one  of  these  ambassadors.  Columba  was  his  name, 
and  during  the  thirty-four  years  that  he  labored  after 
his  little  wicker-woven  skiff  had  brought  him  to  the 
islet  of  lona,  he  saw  the  fruit  of  his  efforts  increase 
and  increase  until,  by  the  time  he  died,  about  the 
opening  of  the  seventh  century,  Scotland  might  be 
said  to  be  Christian. 

At  the  same  time  Columba  worked  in  Scotland 
another  missionary,  Columban,  also  inspired  by  Saint 
Patrick,  began  to  work  in  Gaul.  Here  his  task  was 
to  make  real  Christians  of  those  who  had  been  bap- 
tized at  a  king's  command.  Because  he  chose  as  his 
motto  the  phrase,  "Be  bold  in  the  cause  of  truth  and 
impregnable  against  falsehood,"  the  king  drove  him 
into  exile.  But  when,  in  what  is  now  Switzerland,  he 
found  a  chance  to  work  with  avowed  pagans,  he  achieved 
great  success. 

Both  Columba  and  Columban  established  what  we 
would  now  call  industrial  schools  in  connection  with 
their  missions.  It  is  the  glory  of  this  mighty  missionary 
movement  that  flowed  out  of  Ireland  that  it  based  its 
work  everywhere  on  education. 

The  gospel  for  the  Angles. — The  story  of  the  begin- 
ning of  permanent  Christian  work  in  England  is  almost 
too  well  known  to  need  repetition.  During  the  years 
while  the  Romans  ruled  Britain  a  flourishing  church 
had  sprung  up,  only  to  be  obliterated  by  the  gods  of 
the  tribes  that  blotted  out  the  authority  of  the  empire. 
One  day  in  the  sixth  century  the  Abbot  Gregory  saw 
exposed  for  sale  in  Rome  some  boys  whose  beauty 
moved  him  to  inquire  their  race.  Told  that  they  were 
Angles  he  replied,  "Not  'Angles,'  but  'angels,'  "  and 
would  have  started  as  a  missionary  to  the  distant 
island  had  he  not  been  restrained  by  the  Pope.    Soon 


THE  WINNING  OF  NORTHERN  EUROPE    39 

Gregorj'  was  Pope  himself,  and  soon  he  had  sent 
Augustine  (not  the  Augustine  abeady  mentioned)  as  his 
proxy  in  the  quest. 

Augustine  first  won  the  king  of  the  Httle  reahn  of 
Kent,  whose  wife  had  become  a  Christian  in  Gaul. 
Later  the  kingdom  of  Northumbria,  through  its  king, 
was  won  over.  But  it  was  not  until  after  centuries  of 
fighting,  and  after  missionary  work  along  the  Baltic 
had  brought  about  the  conversion  of  Denmark,  that, 
in  the  reign  of  King  Canute,  in  1030,  Christianity  fin- 
ished its  conquest  of  England. 

When  Augustine  came  to  England  he  found  mission- 
aries at  work  there  sent  by  Columba  from  Scotland. 
The  two  groups  did  not  get  along  together  very  well. 
The  missionaries  who  owed  their  inspiration  to  Columba 
and  Saint  Patrick  had  little  contact  with  the  church 
in  Rome,  and  Augustine  was  under  direct  orders  from 
the  Pope.  The  trouble  increased  until,  in  the  middle 
of  the  seventh  century,  a  conference  decided  that  the 
Roman  Church  was  to  have  the  preference. 

The  Gospel  in  Germany  and  Scandinavia 

It  was  one  of  the  habits  of  Charlemagne,  after  he 
had  conquered  a  people,  to  give  it  the  choice  of  Chris- 
tian baptism  or  slaughter.  What  must  have  seemed 
very  gratifying  increases  in  the  so-called  Christian 
population  took  place  in  this  manner,  particularly  in 
Germany.  But  it  required  immense  labors,  leading 
even  to  martyrdoms,  by  many  missionaries  to  trans- 
form these  people  into  anything  remotely  resembling 
true  Christians. 

Boniface. — Of  these  apostles  to  the  Germans  an 
English  monk,  Boniface,  was  the  greatest.  He  was 
killed  when,  as  an  old  man  of  seventy-five,  he  was  on 


40       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

his  way  to  preach  to  the  heathen  ancestors  of  the 
Dutch. 

Hah'  a  century  after  Boniface,  and  Charlemagne 
was  dead.  For  a  time  it  seemed  as  though  his  empire 
could  not  weather  the  storm,  which  beat  in  greatest 
fury  from  the  north,  from  whence,  led  by  the  Danes, 
the  Norsemen  swept  south  to  harry  Gaul  and  the 
lands  of  the  Mediterranean. 

Ansgar. — A  quick  shift  in  the  internal  politics  of 
Denmark  and  there  came  a  chance  to  send  a  Christian 
missionary  there.  A  volunteer  was  found  in  Ansgar, 
the  quaUty  of  whose  consecration  was  shown  when  a 
friend  asked  him  if  he  meant  to  persist  in  so  danger- 
ous an  enterprise.  "When  I  was  asked  whether  I 
would  go  for  God's  name  among  the  heathen  to  pub- 
lish the  gospel,"  he  answered,  "I  could  not  dechne 
such  a  call.  Yes,  with  all  my  power  I  wish  to  go 
hence,  and  no  man  can  make  me  waver  in  this  resolu- 
tion." 

Ansgar  was  the  first  medical  missionary,  as  well  as 
the  great  apostle  to  Denmark.  Later  he  took  the 
gospel  to  Sweden,  and  from  there  it  was  carried  to 
Norway  and  even  Iceland.  We  are  not,  however,  to 
think  of  this  as  any  easy  conquest.  A  Swedish  king 
was  persecuted  for  his  Christianity  as  late  as  the  eleventh 
century.  And  the  struggle  to  convert  East  Prussia 
took  even  longer.  As  one  writer  says,  "The  story  of 
Christianizing  Germany  and  Scandinavia  is  a  thousand 
years  long." 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  Why  has  Christianity  always  been  eager  to  pre- 
serve culture? 

2.  What  conception  of  baptism  lay  behind  the  methods 


THE  WINNING  OF  NORTHERN  EUROPE    41 

that  Clovis,   Charlemagne,  and  others  took  to  add  to 
the  Christian  community? 

3.  Give  an  account  of  the  careers  of  Patrick,  of  Au- 
gustine, of  Boniface,  of  Ansgar. 

4.  What  was  the  condition  of  your  ancestors  before 
they  were  reached  by  Christianity?  How  long  ago  was 
this? 

5.  Compare  the  progress  of  Christianity  in  India  with 
that  in  Germany. 

6.  What  methods  used  by  the  missionaries  mentioned 
in  this  chapter  are  used  by  modern  missionaries?  What 
is  their  value? 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  POPES  COME  TO  POWER 

As  our  history  has  proceeded  we  have  seen  that 
one  great  institution  with  which  we  are  dealing  is  the 
papacy.  It  takes  a  leading  part  alike  in  the  affairs  of 
congregations  and  kings.  A  Pope  anoints  Charlemagne, 
and  a  Pope  sends  Augustine  to  the  conversion  of  England. 

The  papacy  remains  to-day  one  of  the  important 
powers  of  the  world,  and  although  much  of  its  past 
glory  has  departed,  there  are  still  many  states  that 
think  it  necessary  to  maintain  formal  diplomatic  rela- 
tions with  the  head  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  One 
cannot  pretend  to  know  the  course  of  Christian  his- 
tory who  has  not  studied  the  record  of  the  papacy. 
So  we  naturally  ask.  Where  did  this  institution  come 
from? 

The  Answer  of  the  Roman  Church 

It  is  always  best  to  seek  an  answer  to  a  question 
first  from  those  most  directly  concerned.  If  we  con- 
sult those  who  to-day  acknowledge  the  authority  of 
the  Pope,  we  find  that  they  have  a  clear  conception 
of  the  cause  that  has  placed  the  occupant  of  the  bishopric 
of  Rome  in  a  place  of  such  conspicuous  power.  Their 
answer  places  great  importance  upon  a  statement 
attributed  to  Jesus. 

A  text  that  has  made  history. — In  the  Gospel 
according  to  Saint  Matthew  (i6.  i8,  19)  are  these 
words:  "I  say  also  unto  thee,  That  thou  art  Peter, 
and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  church;  and  the 
gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it.     And  I  will 

42 


THE  POPES  COME  TO  POWER         43 

give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven: 
and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound 
in  heaven;  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth 
shall  be  loosed  in  heaven." 

One  historian  has  said  that  this  passage  "has  afifected 
history  more  profoundly  than  the  edicts  of  the  most 
powerful  monarch."^  For  it  has  been  interpreted  to 
mean  that  the  leadership  of  the  organized  church  was  to 
be  placed  in  the  hands  of  Saint  Peter,  with  power  to 
include  or  exclude  whom  he  would  from  the  benefits 
of  that  body.  And  the  Popes  of  Rome  have  been 
regarded  as  the  legitimate  successors  of  Saint  Peter, 
holding  by  that  succession  the  powers  thus  claimed 
to  have  been  placed  in  his  keeping. 

Why  are  the  Popes  so  regarded?  Because  from  very 
early  times  there  was  a  tradition  within  the  church  that 
Saint  Peter  came  to  Rome  to  act  as  leader  of  the  church 
there,  and  that  he  suffered  martyrdom  in  that  city. 
And  while  there  is  no  certain  proof  of  this  fact  (as 
there  is,  for  example,  of  the  presence  of  Saint  Paul 
in  Rome)  the  tradition  is  so  old,  and  has  been  so  little 
questioned,  that  it  is  generally  believed.  The  Church 
of  Rome,  then,  stood  for  centuries  in  the  thought  of 
orthodox  Christians  as  preeminently  the  church  of 
Saint  Peter,  and  the  bishops  of  Rome  as  his  successors. 
And  the  power  that  came  to  these  bishops  has  been 
held  to  be  promised  by  Christ  himself  in  the  passage 
we  have  quoted. 

The  Answer  of  History 

When  the  historian  approaches  this  question  he  is 
not  apt  to  stop  with  the  quotation  of  Scripture.  He 
looks  for  the  conditions  that  made  men  ready  finally 

» J.  H.  Robinson,  Medieval  and  Modern  Times,  Ginn  &  Company,  publishers,  p.  46. 


44       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

to  agree  to  this  interpretation  of  the  passage  as  being 
correct.  For  he  finds,  as  soon  as  he  starts  investigating, 
that  good  members  of  the  church  did  not  always  agree 
that  such  supreme  power  was  to  be  handed  down  from 
one  bishop  of  Rome  to  his  successors.  "Why,"  he 
asks,  "did  they  finally  accept  that  interpretation?" 

Bishops  and  metropolitans.— We  have  already  (see 
Chapter  I)  seen  how  the  elementary  organization  of 
the  Christian  churches  in  the  first  years  of  their  existence 
developed  into  more  rigid  forms,  with  clergy  sharply 
divided  from  laity,  and  then  the  chief  pastors  of  im- 
portant cities  set  aside  as  bishops,  and  finally  the 
bishops  of  the  most  important  cities  known  as  arch- 
bishops or  metropolitans.  We  have  seen  how  Con- 
stantine  relied  upon  Christianity  to  cement  his  extended 
empire  together,  and  so  we  can  understand  what  in- 
creasing power  came  to  these  bishops,  and  particularly 
to  the  archbishops,  as  they  were  accorded  the  support 
of  the  great  emperor. 

To  begin  with,  this  power  was  confined  to  church 
affairs.  We  have  seen  how  the  bishops  were  gathered 
to  pass  judgment  on  what  was  true  Christian  teaching 
and  what  false.  Similar  questions  were  likewise  coming 
up  constantly  within  the  local  congregations,  and  the 
word  of  the  bishop  was  generally  regarded  as  sufficient 
to  settle  them. 

But  gradually  these  bishops  began  to  exercise  author- 
ity on  secular  matters.  The  law  came  to  recognize 
their  claim  to  special  courts  in  matters  that  concerned 
them,  and  when  the  church  began  to  pile  up  property 
under  imperial  favor  there  were  many  such  matters. 
So  that,  by  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century,  these 
heads  of  important  churches  had  accumulated  great 
powers,  both  churchly  and  secular. 


THE  POPES  COME  TO  POWER  45 

The  bishop  of  Rome. — In  the  beginning,  these  im- 
portant, or  metropoHtan,  churches  were  the  ones  located 
at  Rome,  Antioch,  and  Alexandria.  The  Council  of 
Nicea  (see  Chapter  II)  formally  acknowledged  the 
leadership  of  these  great  cities  of  the  empire. 

But  at  the  same  time  a  new  power  was  rising  in  the 
capital  that  Constantine  was  building,  and  by  the  middle 
of  the  fifth  century  Constantinople  was  not  only  re- 
garded as  a  metropolitan  church  but  was  competing 
with  Rome  for  the  leadership  of  all.  To  this  day  Con- 
stantinople has  never  admitted  that  Rome  has  won 
that  contest.  And  at  the  same  time  the  force  of  his- 
tory was  great  enough  to  include  Jerusalem  in  the 
group  of  leaders.  Sometimes  the  bishops  of  these  five 
churches  were  known  as  metropolitans,  and  sometimes 
as  patriarchs.  Those  titles  still  persist  in  the  Catholic 
churches  that  do  not  recognize  the  claims  of  Rome. 

The  struggle  for  leadership  among  these  five  churches, 
as  we  have  said,  resolved  itself  into  a  contest  between 
the  bishop  of  Constantinople  and  the  bishop  of  Rome. 
On  the  roll  of  bishops  of  both  cities  we  find  some  great 
names.  To  only  a  slight  extent  was  the  personality 
of  the  bishop  to  incline  the  outcome  one  way  or  the 
other.    Why,  then,  did  Rome  finally  win  out? 

The  influence  of  the  emperor. — One  reason  is  to 
be  found  in  the  part  played  by  the  emperors.  There 
was  no  imperial  authority  in  Italy  after  the  middle 
of  the  fifth  century,  as  we  have  seen.  But  an  emperor 
remained  upon  the  throne  in  Constantinople  almost 
until  the  time  when  Columbus  was  to  sail  for  the  New 
World.  And  these  emperors,  from  the  time  of  Con- 
stantine down,  largely  dominated  the  local  patriarchs. 

On  the  surface  it  might  seem  that  a  patriarch  with 
an  emperor  at  his  back  would  have  an  immense  advan- 


46       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

tage  in  asserting  his  power.  But  the  trouble  was  that 
the  emperor  was  apt  to  be  on  the  back  of  the  patriarch 
rather  than  at  his  back.  The  church  instinctively  felt 
the  need  of  some  independence  from  temporal  commands, 
and  that  the  bishop  of  Rome,  away  off  in  Italy,  had, 
while  the  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  under  the  imperial 
eye,  frequently  seemed  but  a  puppet  of  the  throne. 
So  the  self-respect  of  the  church  inclined  it  to  look  to 
Rome  for  leadership. 

The  influence  of  doctrine. — These  years  were  filled 
with  controversies  as  to  theological  questions.  The 
patriarchs  of  the  East  were  found  now  on  one  side  and 
again  on  another  in  these  disputes.  The  side  tempo- 
rarily in  control  would  banish  and  persecute  the  other 
side,  and  constant  confusion  was  the  result.  For  exam- 
ple, in  Alexandria  the  great  Athanasius  had  to  undergo 
five  exiles,  and  in  Constantinople  the  great  Chrysostom 
was  banished  twice  and  finally  died  while  on  the  way 
to  a  farther  place  of  exile. 

There  was  little  of  this  in  Rome.  The  Roman  bishops 
had  a  good  supply  of  common  sense;  they  had  a  clear 
body  of  Christian  teaching  that  had  come  down  from 
the  earhest  days  of  the  church;  in  some  way  or  other 
they  generally  managed  to  line  up  on  the  side  of  a  dis- 
pute that  was  to  win  the  verdict  of  time.  Thus  it  came 
to  pass  that  a  large  part  of  the  church,  wearied  and 
confused  by  these  disputations,  caught  the  habit  of 
thinking:  "What  does  the  bishop  of  Rome  say?  He 
is  generally  right."  And  the  doctrine  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  became  famous  for  its  correctness. 

The  influence  of  disorder. — The  bishop  of  Rome 
was,  as  we  have  said,  a  long  way  from  Constantinople. 
As  the  empire  gradually  fell  to  pieces,  he  became  almost 
the  only  leader  in  the  city  who  was  always  at  his  post. 


THE  POPES  COME  TO  POWER         47 

The  citizens  came  to  look  to  him  for  leadership  in 
matters  of  all  sorts,  many  of  them  purely  secular. 
When  the  Huns  swept  down  to  the  gates  of  the  city 
(see  Chapter  IH)  it  was  the  bishop  who  went  out  to 
meet  them  and  persuaded  them  not  to  sack  it.  Such 
a  triumph,  when  all  other  means  of  defense  had  failed, 
would  add  tremendously  to  the  prestige  of  the  position. 

The  bishop  came  to  be  the  custodian  of  the  election 
of  city  officers,  and  to  have  authority  to  say  how  the 
public  money  should  be  spent.  Great  tracts  of  land 
in  other  parts  of  Italy  were  deeded  to  his  church,  and 
he  exercised  the  powers  of  a  temporal  sovereign  over 
these.  Finally  he  came  to  negotiate  with  the  nations 
beyond  Italy  and  give  orders  to  generals  just  like  any 
other  monarch.  In  fact,  in  that  time  of  constant  change, 
this  continuing  rule  soon  became  the  most  powerful 
in  western  Europe. 

The  influence  of  tradition. — Moreover,  the  bishop 
of  Rome  had  the  advantage  of  being  the  bishop  of 
Rome.  There  is  a  glamour  still  about  that  city,  the 
Eternal  City.  For  so  many  centuries  before  Constanti- 
nople even  was,  it  had  ruled  the  world.  The  magic 
of  its  name  was  strong  upon  men.  Add  to  this  the 
fact  that  this  church  alone  in  the  West  traced  its  his- 
tory back  to  two  apostles,  and  you  have  two  mighty 
streams  of  tradition,  one  secular  and  the  other  churchly, 
both  working  to  exalt  the  bishop  of  Rome. 

The  Supremacy  of  the  Pope  Affirmed 

By  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century  the  emperor  at 
that  time  ruUng  in  the  western  empire  had  been  per- 
suaded to  publish  a  decree  declaring  the  power  of  the 
bishop  of  Rome  supreme  over  that  of  all  other  bishops. 
At  the  end  of  that  century  the  bishop  of  Rome  declared 


48       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

his  power  supreme  over  that  of  any  king,  for,  said  he, 
"Two  powers  govern  the  world,  the  priestly  and  the 
kingly.  The  first  is  assuredly  the  superior,  for  the 
priest  is  responsible  to  God  for  the  conduct  of  the  em- 
perors themselves." 

From  that  time  on  the  power  of  the  bishop  of  Rome 
increased  in  the  West  almost  without  interruption.  An 
interesting  sidelight  is  thrown  on  the  period  when  we 
learn  that  missionaries  like  Boniface  (see  Chapter  IV) 
were  quick  to  publish  to  the  Germans  the  superior 
power  of  the  bishop  in  far-off  Rome  as  a  means  of  free- 
ing themselves  from  interference  at  the  hands  of  nearer 
bishops.  And,  finally,  the  day  came  when  the  kings 
realized  that  the  support  of  these  Roman  bishops  was 
an  invaluable  asset  in  their  struggles  for  power. 

Gregory  the  Great. — The  bishop  of  Rome  who 
finally  won  for  his  office  the  leadership  of  all  western 
Europe,  both  secular  and  ecclesiastical,  was  that  Gregory 
whom  we  have  seen  sending  Augustine  to  the  con- 
version of  the  Angles.  He  it  was  who  declared  that 
the  title  of  Pope  (equivalent  to  "father"  in  Latin)  which 
had  been  applied  to  many  bishops  in  the  past,  should 
be  regarded  as  the  exclusive  property  and  title  of  the 
bishop  of  Rome,  and  used  as  a  mark  of  his  headship 
of  all  the  church  on  earth.  "Without  making  himself 
offensive,  he  practically  succeeded  in  acquiring  almost 
universal  dominion." 

The  Pope  crowns  the  Emperor. — After  Gregory's 
death,  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century  the 
papacy  continued  to  develop  as  an  institution  with  great 
power.  Finally,  when  Charlemagne  had  fought  his 
way  to  supremacy  in  Germany,  France,  northern  Spain, 
and  most  of  Italy,  the  Pope  then  in  Rome  felt  himself 
ready  to  disregard  the  fiction  that  had  been  fostered 


THE  POPES  COME  TO  POWER  49 

since  the  deposing  of  the  last  Roman  emperor  in  476, 
that  western  Europe  was  being  ruled  by  the  Emperor 
in  Constantinople,  and  crowned  the  German  warrior, 
as  previously  stated,  as  "Emperor  of  the  Romans." 
It  was  a  far  cry  from  the  day  when  the  emperor  crucified 
the  first  bishop  of  Rome  to  that  Christmas  day,  800, 
when  the  bishop  of  Rome  made  a  new  emperor  in  a 
church  named  for  the  apostoHc  martyr! 

The  result  of  the  rise  of  the  papacy. — And  what 
happened  within  the  church  as  the  bishop  of  Rome 
thus  came  to  power?  We  have  spoken  as  if,  in  the 
struggle  with  Constantinople,  the  victory  lay  with 
Rome.  But  this  is  because  we  are  speaking  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  West.  If  we  hved  in  the  East,  we 
would  repudiate  such  a  conclusion. 

The  church  in  the  East  refused  to  recognize  these 
claims  of  the  Pope.  The  patriarchs  of  Constantinople, 
Jerusalem,  Alexandria,  and  Antioch  went  on  claiming  to 
be  equal  in  authority  with  any  other  Christian  leaders 
on  earth.  Gradually  the  split  between  East  and  West, 
emphasized  by  the  political  conditions  of  those  times, 
broadened.  Finally  there  was  a  complete  break,  and 
the  "catholic"  church  went  on  to  its  destiny  in  two 
branches,  generally  known  as  Roman  and  Greek,  that 
persist  to  this  day. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  To  what  extent  do  you  believe  that  Jesus  expected 
his  followers  to  build  such  a  highly  organized  church  as 
we  see  in  this  chapter? 

2.  What  is  your  interpretation  of  Matthew  16.  18,  19? 

3.  Summarize  the  reasons  that  led  to  the  supremacy 
of  the  papacy. 

4.  Can  you  think  of  any  reasons,  beyond  those  men- 


50       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

tioned  in  this  chapter,  that  may  have  helped  Rome  to 
assert  its  power,  or  may  have  hindered  Constantinople? 

5.  Why  did  the  churches  in  Antioch,  Alexandria,  and 
Jerusalem  not  exercise  as  large  an  influence  as  those  in 
Rome  and  Constantinople? 

6.  Was  it  a  good  thing,  or  a  bad  thing,  for  the  progress 
of  Christianity  that  the  Pope  came  to  hold  such  power? 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  LATER  CHURCH  IN  THE  EAST 

The  churches  that  were  under  the  dominance  of  the 
metropoUtan  cities  of  the  East  (Constantinople,  Antioch, 
Alexandria,  and  Jerusalem)  never  acknowledged  the 
supremacy  that  was  claimed  for  Rome.  As  a  conse- 
quence they  developed  a  life  that  has  been  distinct 
from  that  of  all  the  rest  of  Christendom. 

In  this  chapter  we  are  attempting  to  sketch  the 
history  of  the  Greek  Catholic  Church,  and  the  churches 
that  have  been  kindred  to  it.  It  is,  of  course,  impossible 
to  give  more  than  the  barest  outline.  We  are  constrained 
to  this  course,  not  because  the  later  history  of  the 
Eastern  church  is  not  important,  but  because  it  is  not 
particularly  important  to  us.  We  are  of  the  West,  and 
so  the  story  of  the  spread  of  Christianity  in  and  through 
and  by  the  West  is  bound  to  interest  us  in  greater  meas- 
ure. But  we  must  remember  that  there  is  a  wonderful 
Christian  history  in  the  lands  that  trace  their  religious 
descent  from  Constantinople. 

The  Mental  Life  of  the  Greek  Church 

The  Greek  always  showed  aptitude  for  adventure  in 
realms  of  the  mind.  The  Roman  was  practical;  he 
built  an  empire  and  bound  it  together  with  roads. 
The  Greek  was  a  dreamer;  he  built  an  Acropolis  and 
thronged  to  the  schools  of  the  philosophers.  So  when 
the  Roman  became  a  Christian  he  was  ready  to  give 
most  of  his  time  to  the  work  of  building  an  organiza- 
tion that  would  make  his  religion,  through  its  leaders, 

51 


52       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

a  ruler  of  affairs;  when  the  Greek  became  a  Christian 
he  gave  most  of  his  time  to  disputes  on  matters  of 
doctrine  and  custom,  and  even  art. 

Controversies  in  the  East. — The  story  of  the  church 
in  eastern  Europe  from  the  time  of  Constantine  on  is 
one  of  almost  unending  dispute.  Church  councils  were 
frequently  called  to  put  an  end,  by  authoritative  de- 
cisions, to  these  disputes,  but  they  won  only  indifferent 
success.  Even  if  one  question  was  settled,  it  would 
not  be  long  before  the  subtle  mind  of  the  Greek  would 
provoke  another  question  that  would  stir  the  whole 
church  up  again.  Various  emperors  tried  to  stop  these 
disputations,  but,  on  the  whole,  these  efforts  by  the 
throne  only  increased  the  trouble. 

We  have  no  time  to  outline  these  disputes.  In  the 
realm  of  doctrine,  they  had  to  do  mainly  with  the  rela- 
tion of  Jesus  to  God  and  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Western 
church  was,  in  later  years,  to  dispute  long  concerning 
the  work  done  by  Jesus;  just  what  it  was  he  did,  and 
how  he  did  it.  The  Eastern  church  seemed  more  in- 
clined to  dispute  as  to  who  Jesus  was.  The  Western 
church  was  ready  to  worship  Jesus  when  they  saw 
what  he  had  done;  the  Eastern  church  declared  it  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  know  all  about  his  person  in  order 
to  find  the  true  ground  for  worship. 

Then  there  were  disputes  as  to  church  adminis- 
tration. There  was  the  great  dispute  as  to  what  metro- 
politan was  to  hold  precedence.  And  there  were  minor 
disputes,  such  as  whether  the  clergy  were  to  be  allowed 
to  marry  or  not.  In  the  Greek  church  that  was  answered 
in  the  affirmative,  with  the  understanding  that  priests 
should  marry  before  and  not  after  ordination,  and 
with  the  highest  places  generally  reserved  for  celibate 
clergy. 


THE  LATER  CHURCH  IN  THE  EAST    53 

Curiously,  one  of  the  fiercest  controversies  had  to 
do  with  the  use  of  pictures  and  images  in  worship. 
In  the  beginning  the  fear  of  idolatry,  strong  upon  those 
who  had  been  so  close  to  the  Orient,  lined  the  Eastern 
church  up  in  strong  opposition.  The  Council  of  Con- 
stantinople, meeting  in  754,  even  went  so  far  as  to 
condemn  the  "godless  art  of  painting."  But  finally 
the  supporters  of  the  images  won,  and  the  Greek  church 
is  to-day  marked  by  its  worship  of  these  and  of  sacred 
pictures  (ikons). 

The  Final  Break  with  Rome 

While  the  clergy  throughout  the  Eastern  empire 
were  engaging  in  these  disputes,  both  theological  and 
otherwise,  designed  to  weaken  the  bonds  between 
them  and  the  practical-minded  west,  the  patriarch  of 
Constantinople  was  likewise  showing  that  he  had  no 
intention  of  submitting  to  the  pretensions  of  the  Pope 
of  Rome.  The  struggle  between  the  two  lasted  for 
five  hundred  years. 

Constantinople  and  Rome  excommunicate  each 
other. — At  the  time  of  Gregory  the  Great  (see  Chapter 
V)  the  patriarch  claimed  the  title  of  "Universal  Arch- 
bishop," much  to  the  indignation  of  that  great  Pope. 
Less  than  two  hundred  years  later  another  patriarch, 
Photius,  claimed  to  be  equal  with  the  Pope,  and  was 
solemnly  excommunicated  for  his  presumption. 

The  ill-feeling  grew  for  another  two  hundred  years, 
until  finally,  just  before  the  Normans  were  setting 
out  for  the  conquest  of  England,  the  patriarch  closed 
all  the  churches  in  the  East  that  used  the  Latin  rite. 
The  Pope  replied  with  another  excommunication,  and 
the  year  in  which  this  was  pubhshed  in  Constantinople, 


54      THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

1054,  is  usually  spoken  of  as  the  year  in  which  East 
and  West  finally  divided. 

The  East  after  the  division. — Meantime  the  Eastern 
empire  was  facing  a  new  enemy.  The  Mohammedan 
invasion  (see  Chapter  VII)  was  pressing  close  to  the 
walls  of  Constantinople.  By  1080  the  Turks  were  in 
Nicea, 

Before  that  the  frightened  Eastern  Emperor  had 
appealed  to  the  Pope,  now  the  strongest  figure  in  the 
West,  for  help.  The  Pope  saw  here  an  opportunity  to 
bring  the  church  in  the  East  under  his  control,  and  the 
crusades  (see  Chapter  VIII)  were  his  attempt  to  win 
command  of  the  situation.  The  crusades  relieved  the 
pressure  on  Constantinople  for  a  time,  and  various 
councils  were  held  at  which  a  reunion  of  the  Eastern 
and  Western  churches  on  the  basis  of  acknowledgment 
of  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope  was  negotiated.  But 
nothing  came  of  these  efforts.  When  certain  church 
dignitaries  signed  the  documents  they  were  imme- 
diately repudiated  by  the  people  they  were  supposed 
to  represent.  In  1453  the  Turks  finally  captured 
Constantinople,  and  since  then  there  has  never  been 
a  serious  attempt  to  bring  the  two  churches  together. 

Missionary  Efforts  of  the  Greek  Church 

With  Constantinople  in  Turkish  hands,  and  the 
patriarch  appointed  by  a  Mohammedan  court,  it  might 
have  been  expected  that  the  Greek  Church  would 
disappear,  as  had  the  church  in  North  Africa.  Why 
did  it  not?  We  discover  that  it  lived  largely  because 
in  its  past  it  had  sent  out  missionaries  who  had  planted 
the  seeds  of  its  life  among  other  nations,  where  now 
it  was  to  find  vigor  in  its  hour  of  need. 

Cyril  and  Methodius. — The  two  great  missionaries 


THE  LATER  CHURCH  IN  THE  EAST    55 

of  the  Greek  Church  were  brothers,  who  were  members 
of  the  church  in  Thessalonica  that  had  been  originally 
founded  by  Saint  Paul.  They  were  well  educated,  and 
when  one  day  a  call  came  asking  for  volunteers  to  go 
and  help  an  obscure  king  in  the  Crimea  decide  whether 
Judaism,  Mohammedanism,  or  Christianity  should  dis- 
place idolatry,  Cyril  started.  His  success  fired  him 
for  further  missionary  efforts,  and  together  with  his 
brother  he  set  off  to  convert  the  savage  Bulgarians. 

The  story  of  the  conversion  of  the  Bulgarians  illus- 
trates the  manner  in  which,  in  all  ages,  the  Christian 
missionary  has  made  all  sorts  of  talents  contribute  to 
the  success  of  his  mission.  The  king  of  the  Bulgarians 
proved  impervious  to  the  preaching  of  Cyril.  There- 
upon Methodius  obtained  consent  to  paint  a  picture 
upon  a  wall  of  the  palace,  and  evolved  such  a  terrifying 
conception  of  the  terrors  of  the  Last  Judgment  that, 
when  the  king  and  his  warriors  saw  it,  they  demanded 
baptism. 

Preaching  that  spread  far. — With  Bulgaria  won  the 
brothers  pressed  on  into  what  is  to-day  Hungary  and 
secured  the  conversion  of  the  Moravians  hving  there. 
It  has  interested  some  scholars  to  point  out  the  sort 
of  "apostoUc  succession"  thus  opened  to  modern  Protes- 
tant missions.  For,  as  we  wiU  later  see,  these  Moravians 
were  to  give  birth  to  the  Protestant  missions  of  Germany 
in  the  eighteenth  century,  as  well  as  to  the  stirring  in 
the  heart  of  John  Wesley  that  brought  on  the  evan- 
gelical revival  in  England,  and  so  led  to  much  of  the 
missionary  enthusiasm  of  the  Protestant  churches  of 
England  and  America.  It  is  a  strange  coincidence 
that  a  missionary  named  Methodius  should  have  so 
directly  contributed  to  the  rise,  a  thousand  years  later, 
of  a  branch  of  the  church  known  as  the  Methodists. 


56       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

The  most  significant  work  done  by  these  brothers, 
as  has  been  that  of  multitudes  of  other  missionaries, 
was  that  of  reducing  the  Slavonian  dialects  of  these 
peoples  whom  they  had  evangeHzed  to  writing,  and 
turning  the  Scriptures  into  a  language  that  common 
men  could  understand.  These  versions  are  still  in  use 
in  much  of  the  Greek  Church,  notably  in  Russia, 
although  they  are  to-day  as  unintelligible  as  were  the 
Greek  and  Hebrew  versions  they  originally  superseded. 

The  gospel  in  Russia. — ^At  about  the  time  when 
missionaries  from  Ireland,  England,  and  France  were 
taking  the  gospel  throughout  Scandinavia,  the  last 
great  stretch  of  unevangelized  territory  in  the  East, 
Russia,  was  opening  to  Christianity.  This  is  the  way 
in  which  one  writer  has  told  the  story: 

"In  many  an  art  gallery  may  be  found  the  picture 
of  the  baptism  of  the  Princess  Olga,  the  first  prominent 
disciple  of  Christ  in  Russia,  who,  in  955,  journeyed  to 
Constantinople  to  learn  more  of  the  Christian  faith. 
Her  inquiries  led  to  her  baptism  while  in  the  city.  Yet 
the  flow  of  Christianity  from  this  royal  source  was  a 
varying  stream,  choked  by  Olga's  grandson,  Vladimir, 
who  was  a  pagan  of  pagans,  offering  human  sacrifices 
in  any  great  stress  of  experience.  But  Vladimir  finally 
became  Christian,  after  the  fashion  of  many  another 
sign-seeking  chief  of  those  days,  vowing  that  if  he 
succeeded  in  taking  the  stronghold  Kherson,  in  the 
Crimea,  and  if  he  might  have  the  sister  of  the  Greek 
emperor,  the  Christian  Princess  Ann,  as  his  wife,  he 
would  adopt  Christianity  as  the  state  religion.  Vladimir 
was  beset  by  missionaries  from  the  Mohammedan, 
Roman  and  Greek  Churches,  as  well  as  by  the  ancient 
Jewish  Church,  each  presenting  the  claims  of  his  religion, 
before  he  finally  committed  himself  and  his  people  to 


THE  LATER  CHURCH  IN  THE  EAST    57 

Christianity.  The  story  of  carrying  the  gospel  to 
Russia  differs  from  that  of  other  nations  in  that  it  is 
not  accompanied  by  persecution.  The  people  followed 
Vladimir  in  a  simple  faith,  and  the  Bible  had  been  pre- 
pared for  them  a  hundred  years  before  by  Cyril  and 
Methodius."^  By  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century  all 
Russia  was  nominally  Christian. 

During  the  ages  when  much  of  Russia  was  over- 
run by  the  Mongols,  the  Greek  Church  lived  on  in 
security.  By  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
with  the  country  again  free  and  unified,  Moscow  was 
declared  a  patriarchate  in  place  of  Rome,  which  was 
held  to  be  heretical.  When  Peter  the  Great  came  to 
the  throne  the  church  came  under  full  control  of  the 
Tsar,  and  so  remained  until  the  revolution  of  191 7. 
Since  then  the  church  has  suffered  much  purifying 
repression,  and  there  are  many  hopes  expressed  that, 
when  the  confusion  of  the  present  passes,  the  church 
in  Russia  will  emerge  with  a  spiritual  vitality  and  mes- 
sage worthy  of  the  persistent  devotion  of  the  common 
people  of  that  great  land. 

Other  Churches  That  Grew  in  the  East 

The  Nestorian  missions. — In  the  middle  of  the  fifth 
century,  about  the  time  the  Western  empire  was  passing, 
the  Eastern  church  and  empire  cast  out,  for  alleged 
heresies  which  we  to-day  have  difficulty  in  distinguish- 
ing, the  bishop  of  Constantinople,  Nestorius,  and  his 
followers.  The  banished  men  finally  found  a  resting 
place  in  Persia,  and  there  the  Nestorian  church  grew 
strong. 

Intensely  missionary  in  spirit,  there  are  evidences 
that  missionaries  of  the  Nestorian  church  won  consid- 


'L.  M.  Hodgkins,  op.  cii.,  p.  105. 


58       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

erable  success  in  lands  as  remote  as  India  and  China. 
The  church,  with  some  offshoots,  still  remains,  although 
it  has  been  greatly  reduced  in  numbers  by  centuries 
hved  in  lands  controlled  by  Mohanunedan  powers. 

The  Armenians, — So  large  a  place  have  Armenian 
Christians  filled  in  the  eyes  of  the  West  during  recent 
years,  that  it  is  well  to  remind  ourselves  that  this  church, 
also,  originally  separated  from  the  Greek  Church. 
That  separation  took  place,  however,  over  fourteen 
hundred  years  ago,  and  despite  their  sufferings  at  the 
hands  of  Turks  and  Kurds,  the  Armenians  have  remained 
a  distinct  national  church. 

Copts  and  Abyssinians. — Two  other  churches  that 
have  branched  off  from  the  Greek  Church  require  men- 
tion. The  first  is  the  Coptic,  which  still  holds  its  place 
in  Egypt  despite  the  fact  that  "it  may  perhaps  be  said 
that  here  Christianity  has  suffered  more  continuous 
persecution  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world."^ 

From  the  same  church  in  North  Africa  came  the 
church  in  Abyssinia.  Strong  efforts  have  been  made  to 
win  this  church  to  allegiance  to  the  Pope,  but  without 
result.  It  represents  to-day  a  very  debased  form  of 
Christianity,  largely  affected  by  the  traditions  connect- 
ing the  Abyssinian  court  with  the  ancient  Hebrews. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  Map  the  territory  of  the  Greek  Church  at  the  time 
of  the  split  from  Rome;  at  the  present. 

2.  What  arguments  can  be  brought  forward  in  favor 
of  the  use  of  images  and  pictures  in  worship?  in  opposi- 
tion to  such  use? 

3.  Why  did  the  church  in  the  East  refuse  to  recognize 
the  supremacy  of  the  Pope? 

»A.  W.  Harrison,  The  Church  of  Twenty  Centuries,  p.  119. 


THE  LATER  CHURCH  IN  THE  EAST    59 

4.  Why  do  missionaries,  as  in  the  case  of  Cyril  and 
Methodius,  regard  the  securing  of  a  written  language 
for  their  converts  as  important?  Does  the  principle 
still  hold? 

5.  What  is  the  tradition  connecting  the  Abyssinian 
court  with  the  ancient  Hebrews? 

6.  What  can  you  find  out  about  the  condition  of  the 
church  in  Russia  to-day?  What  is  its  prospect  for  the 
future? 


CHAPTER  VII 

CHRISTIANITY'S  GREATEST  RIVAL 

In  tracing  the  history  of  the  church  during  its  first 
thousand  years  we  have  seen  how  its  growth  was  retarded 
by  weaknesses  within  its  ranks.  But  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  Christianity  also  faced  acknowledged 
enemies  without.  The  greatest  of  these  was  a  rehgion 
that  came  out  of  Arabia  about  the  time  that  the  Pope 
was  sending  missionaries  to  convert  England,  and  that 
remains  to-day  the  most  active  opponent  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  Mohammedanism. 

The  Prophet  of  Mecca 

The  Hebrews  used  to  speak  of  themselves  as  God's 
chosen  people.  Some  basis  for  that  claim  may  be  seen 
in  the  fact  that  the  three  great  monotheistic  religions 
of  mankind  have  all  come  out  of  that  little  strip  of 
country  that  was  the  home  of  the  Semites.  The  last  of 
these  to  arise  came  from  the  same  region  in  which  the 
Christian  apostle,  Saint  Paul,  hid  himself  while  he 
evolved  his  system  of  doctrine.  The  lonely  wastes  of 
Arabia  seem  to  have  been  a  good  place  for  the  nurture 
of  spiritual  teaching. 

The  camel  driver  who  saw  visions. — Early  in  the 
seventh  century  there  lived  in  the  city  of  Mecca,  an 
unimportant  town  in  the  Arabian  peninsula,  a  guide  for 
the  desert  caravans  named  Mohammed.  He  had  reached 
mid-life  without  attracting  attention,  when  he  entered 
the  employment  of  a  widow  considerably  older  than 
himself,  named  Kadijah.     Something  about  the  camel 

60 


CHRISTIANITY'S  GREATEST  RIVAL     6i 

driver  attracted  the  wealthy  widow,  and  they  were 
married. 

Given  the  leisure  that  became  a  man  of  affairs, 
Mohammed  began  to  develop  the  quahties  of  religious 
leadership  with  which  he  had  been  richly  endowed. 
He  found  himself  living  in  the  midst  of  a  debased  idol- 
atry, with  every  city  at  war  with  its  neighbors.  In  his 
journeys  he  came  into  contact  with  Jews  and  Chris- 
tians, and  responded  to  the  conception  of  God  they 
taught.  Finally  he  became  convinced  that  God  was 
speaking  to  him,  through  his  angel  Gabriel,  just  as  he 
had  spoken  to  the  Hebrew  prophets. 

The  flight  to  Medina. — Mohammed's  first  attempts 
to  win  his  fellow-townsmen  to  the  sort  of  worship  thus 
revealed  to  him  met  with  little  success.  The  people 
of  Mecca  first  laughed  at  him,  and  when  he  persisted, 
prepared  to  kill  him.  Life  was  cheap  in  that  half- 
civilized  city,  and  the  people  were  jealous  of  the  pros- 
perity of  their  Kaaha,  a  sort  of  temple  for  idols,  con- 
taining in  particular  a  sacred  black  stone,  to  which 
pilgrims— a  source  of  easy  profit — came  to  worship 
from  many  parts  of  Arabia.  The  teaching  of  Mohammed, 
which  was  unflinchingly  against  idolatry,  menaced  this 
income,  and  so  aroused  the  wrath  of  most  of  Mecca. 

A  tribute  to  the  sincerity  of  Mohammed,  however,  is 
to  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  those  who  knew  him  best 
believed  in  him  most.  His  wife,  his  father-in-law,  other 
members  of  his  household  and  close  friends,  accepted 
his  teaching  as  a  true  revelation.  When  it  became 
clear  that  his  life  was  in  danger  in  Mecca,  they  banded 
together  to  make  possible  flight.  In  622  Mohammed 
and  his  close  followers  fled  to  the  neighboring  city  of 
Medina,  and  the  year  of  this  Hegira,  or  flight,  became  the 
first  from  which  all  foUowers  of  the  prophet  reckoned  time. 


62       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Mohammed  triumphs. — Mohammed  lived  for  ten 
years  after  his  flight  to  Medina.  In  that  short  period 
he  led  the  citizens  of  his  adopted  home  to  a  military 
conquest  of  Mecca,  and  when  once  established  in  that 
city  repelled  all  attacks.  His  military  triumphs  appealed 
to  the  other  Arab  chiefs,  and  before  his  death  the  prophet 
was  exercising  authority  over  all  Arabia,  and  had  sent 
embassies  proclaiming  his  power  throughout  the  Eastern 
world. 

Probably  the  worst  thing  that  happened  to  Moham- 
med was  this  success,  coupled  with  the  death  of  Kadijah. 
As  long  as  this  wife  lived  Mohammed  held  true  to  the 
clear,  ethical  message  with  which  he  first  commanded 
attention.  But  when  Kadijah  died,  and  the  prospect 
of  wide  acceptance  was  dangled  before  his  eyes  if  he 
would  abate  somewhat  the  moral  severity  of  his  teach- 
ing, Mohammed  compromised  with  what  must  have 
been  his  truest  convictions.  So  it  came  to  pass  that, 
in  the  closing  years  of  his  life,  he  permitted  the  intro- 
duction of  those  elements  of  superstition,  excess,  and 
cruelty  that  have  done  so  much  to  blight  the  work  of 
Mohammedanism. 

To  be  sure,  by  lowering  his  standards  Mohammed 
secured  the  allegiance  of  many  chieftains  who  would 
never  have  been  attracted  by  a  religion  of  ethical  mono- 
theism. But  ethical  compromise  is  never  a  sure  founda- 
tion upon  which  to  build  spiritually,  and  the  last  years 
of  Mohammed  show  the  melancholy  picture  of  a  true 
prophet  who  had  sold  his  revelation  for  a  little  earthly 
authority. 

The  Religion  Called  Islam 

At  his  death  Mohammed  left  a  well-developed  re- 
hgion,   to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Islam,  which 


CHRISTIANITY'S  GREATEST  RIVAL    63 

means  "submission."  The  central  idea  thus  expressed 
is  submission  to  the  will  of  God.  Since  Islam  has  proved 
to  be  Christianity's  most  vigorous  rival,  we  need  to  know 
its  main  characteristics. 

The  Koran. — The  basis  of  Islam  is  the  Koran,  its 
sacred  book.  This  purports  to  be  a  collection  of  the 
revelations  given  to  Mohammed,  and  was  given  its 
final  form  only  a  few  years  after  his  death.  It  con- 
tains not  only  the  theological  ideas  that  underhe  his 
teaching,  but  detailed  instructions  as  to  how  his  follow- 
ers were  to  live.  Parts  of  it  are  of  great  distinction, 
while  other  parts,  when  read  to-day,  seem  meaningless 
or  terribly  dull. 

The  heart  of  Mohammedanism,  as  Islam  is  frequently 
called,  lies  in  its  insistence  upon  the  fact  that  there 
is  only  one  God — in  Arabic  known  as  Allah — and  that 
Mohammed  is  his  truest  prophet.  There  have  been 
other  prophets,  such  as  Abraham,  Moses,  Jonah,  and 
Jesus,  but  the  greatest  of  all  is  Mohammed. 

In  addition,  the  Koran  enjoins  the  faithful  to  "honor 
his  parents,  aid  the  poor,  protect  the  orphan,  keep  his 
contracts,  give  full  measure,  and  weigh  with  a  just 
balance."^  Prayer  must  be  offered  five  times  a  day 
— before  sunrise,  after  noon,  before  and  after  sunset, 
and  after  dark — with  the  worshiper  kneeling  toward 
Mecca.  During  the  whole  month  of  Ramadan  nothing 
may  be  eaten  between  sunrise  and  sunset.  Wine  is 
forbidden,  and  although  this  injunction  is  frequently 
flouted,  the  extent  to  which  it  has  been  obeyed  has 
helped  to  make  the  Moslems  as  mighty  as  they  have 
proved  to  be.  If  possible,  every  Mohammedan  is  to 
make  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca. 

The  Koran  holds  out  hope  of  a  voluptuous  heaven 

>J.  H.  Robinson,  Op.  cil.,  p.  66. 


64       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

to  the  faithful,  and  threatens  those  who  have  not  ac- 
cepted Islam  with  a  fearful  hell,  compounded  mainly 
of  fire.  The  surest  road  to  this  heaven  is  offered  those 
who  fall  in  battle  while  fighting  under  the  standards 
of  the  prophet. 

Allah  is  conceived  as  all-powerful,  and  all-deter- 
mining, so  that  the  whole  course  of  life  is  unchangeably- 
fixed — death,  sorrow,  and  all  other  experiences  being 
given  men  in  a  way  that  cannot  be  escaped. 
For  this  reason  Mohammedans  are  complete  fatalists, 
braving  the  dangers  of  battle  with  utter  indifference, 
since  they  believe  that  what  Allah  wills  is  to  be  their 
portion. 

The  weaknesses  of  Mohammedanism. — Great  as 
has  been  its  power,  Islam  has  been  cursed  by  many 
defects.  For  one  thing,  it  is  based  to  a  great  extent 
upon  a  supposedly  inerrant  holy  book,  and  the  Moham- 
medan holds  that  all  truth  for  all  ages  was  contained 
in  this  book  when  it  was  finished  twelve  centuries  ago. 
This  has  made  impossible  a  mental  life  in  keeping  with 
the  advances  in  knowledge  of  later  generations. 

For  another  thing,  slavery  has  flourished  under 
Mohammedanism,  and  the  Moslem  slave-trader  is  still, 
in  Africa,  the  most  determined  opponent  of  the  effort 
to  wipe  out  human  bondage. 

Again,  the  position  of  women  in  Islam  is  distinctly 
inferior.  They  become  creatures  of  the  harem,  utterly 
subservient  to  their  lords.  In  wealthy  homes  polygamy 
and  concubinage  are  frequent. 

Finally,  Mohammedanism  has  always  been  ready  to 
resort  to  any  methods,  however  cruel,  to  impress  others 
into  the  worship  of  the  prophet.  Death,  slavery  or 
conversion  has  been  the  alternative  presented  con- 
quered peoples.    And  this  barbarity  remains. 


CHRISTIANITY'S  GREATEST  RIVAL     65 

The  Spread  of  Mohammedanism 

Mohammed  died  master  of  Arabia.  He  left  a  religion 
with  temporal  powers  almost  as  great  as  its  religious 
interests.  His  successors,  or  caliphs,  rapidly  extended 
this  power  until  it  comprised  one  of  the  largest  empires 
the  world  has  known. 

Damascus  and  Bagdad  become  world  capitals. — 
The  first  of  the  caliphs,  Ali,  the  father-in-law  of 
Mohammed,  rapidly  extended  the  rule  of  Islam  over 
Syria,  Egypt,  and  Persia.  A  hard  fighter  and  a  man 
of  exceedingly  simple  habits,  Ali  made  of  his  followers 
the  most  formidable  fighting  force  in  the  seventh  cen- 
tury. Soon  it  became  necessary  to  transfer  the  capital 
from  inaccessible  Medina  to  Damascus,  and  later, 
when  northern  Africa  and  Asia  Minor  had  been  con- 
quered, the  caliphate  was  again  moved,  this  time  to 
Bagdad. 

In  this  rapid  expansion,  which  can  be  followed  on  the 
map,  Islam  came  into  conflict  with  Christianity  at 
almost  every  point.  Frequently  this  was  Christianity 
with  a  glorious  history,  such  as  in  North  Africa,  where 
had  been  the  great  schools  that  had  produced  such 
teachers  as  Origen  and  Athanasius,  and  the  churches 
that  had  brought  forth  such  leaders  as  Augustine. 

But  this  Christianity  had  sunk  into  a  sterile  intel- 
lectual dormancy,  with  almost  no  real  spiritual  vigor, 
so  that  there  was  no  power  with  which  seriously  to  dis- 
pute the  progress  of  Islam.  Within  a  very  short  time 
most  of  the  Christian  worship  in  these  regions  was 
obliterated. 

There  is  a  tendency  to  lament  this  overrunning  of 
Christian  lands  by  the  Moslems,  but  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  the  weaker  fell  before  the  stronger.     For 


66       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

there  is  no  question  but  that  Damascus,  and  to  a  greater 
degree  Bagdad,  were  the  finest  cities  of  their  day,  the 
capitals  of  a  culture  surpassing  that  of  any  other  part 
of  the  world  except  China.  When  Islam  finally  pene- 
trated into  Europe  it  came  with  a  civilization  superior 
to  that  which  it  found  there. 

The  Moors  invade  Europe. — For  centuries  the 
Mohammedans  tried  unsuccessfully  to  enter  Europe  by 
the  East.  Foiled  by  the  desperate  resistance  of  the 
eastern  Roman  Empire,  Islam  sought  another  entrance 
in  the  West,  and  here  succeeded.  The  West  Goths,  who 
had  taken  possession  of  Spain  at  the  time  of  the  break-up 
of  the  western  Roman  Empire  (see  Chapter  III),  had 
degenerated  to  the  point  where  they  could  present  no 
effective  resistance.  Spain  was  soon  in  the  hands  of 
the  Moslem  invaders  from  northern  Africa  whom 
history  knows  as  the  Moors. 

Across  the  Pyrenees  beckoned  the  fair  lands  of  France, 
and  soon  the  Moors  were  marching  to  fresh  conquests 
there.  At  first  they  seemed  invincible,  and  all  Europe 
fated  to  Moslem  rule.  But  in  732,  near  Tours,  the 
Prankish  army,  under  Charles  Martel,  met  the  invading 
host  in  what  has  been  called  one  of  the  decisive  battles 
of  the  world.  The  Franks  were  at  least  able  to  stop 
the  advance,  and  the  Moors  withdrew  sullenly  to  Spain. 
Here  they  remained  in  undisputed  possession  until 
Charlemagne  began  the  long  warfare  against  them 
that  was  to  continue  with  varying  fortune  until,  just 
before  the  ships  of  Columbus  were  ready  to  haul  up 
their  anchors  on  that  most  memorable  of  all  voyages, 
the  last  Moorish  stronghold  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Christian  monarchs,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

The  greatest  Moslem  nation. — It  remained,  how- 
ever, for  another  Mohammedan  nation,  the  Turks,  to 


CHRISTIANITY'S  GREATEST  RIVAL     (yj 

establish  the  most  lasting  empire  under  the  standard 
of  the  prophet.  By  the  eleventh  century  the  Seljuk 
Turks,  who  had  come  from  the  steppes  of  western 
Asia,  had  obtained  control  of  most  of  the  Moslem 
world.  They  had  none  of  the  tolerance  that  marked 
the  Arabs,  and  their  persecution  of  pilgrims  to  Christian 
shrines  in  Palestine,  together  with  their  desperate 
attacks  on  Constantinople,  led  directly  to  the  crusades. 

At  the  opening  of  the  fourteenth  century  another 
tribe  of  Turks,  named  the  Ottomans,  after  their  great- 
est leader,  secured  the  ascendency.  These  soon  accom- 
plished what  their  forerunners  had  failed  to  do,  and  in 
1453  shook  all  Europe  by  capturing  Constantinople 
and  wiping  out  the  last  vestige  of  the  eastern  Roman 
Empire. 

The  empire  that  the  Ottoman  Turks  established  has 
endured.  In  fact,  as  late  as  1683,  Turkey  was  fighting 
at  the  gates  of  Vienna  for  the  rule  of  eastern  Europe. 

In  later  centuries  the  Turk  has  lost  much  of  his 
power.  To-day,  at  the  close  of  two  Balkan  wars  and 
the  World  War,  he  seems  utterly  impotent.  But  he 
still  manages  to  hold  some  empire  in  Asia  and  to  retain 
his  capital  at  Constantinople.  It  is  significant,  however, 
that  to-day,  for  the  first  time  since  Mohammedanism 
swept  out  of  Arabia  to  world  conquest,  the  majority 
of  the  followers  of  the  prophet,  a  multitude  about 
equal  to  those  who  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the 
Pope,  are  under  the  temporal  rule  of  non-Moslem 
powers. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  Tell  the  story  of  the  life  of  Mohammed. 

2.  What  are  the  strong  features,  and  what  the  weak, 
of  Islam? 


68       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

3.  Where  did  Mohammedanism  come  into  conflict  with 
Christianity,  and  why  did  it  prevail? 

4.  Do  you  agree  that  Tours  was  one  of  the  decisive 
battles  of  the  world?    Why? 

5.  What  evidences  of  the  superiority  of  Moslem  to 
Christian  civilization  at  the  time  of  the  Moorish  con- 
quest of  Spain  can  you  find? 

6.  What  is  the  present  condition  of  Islam?  To  what 
extent  is  it  now  a  dangerous  enemy  of  Christianity? 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  CHURCH  GOES  TO  WAR 

In  all  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church  there  is 
surely  no  more  romantic  period  than  the  two  hundred 
years  between  the  close  of  the  eleventh  and  the  thir- 
teenth centuries  when  the  crusades  were  in  progress. 
There  is  something  in  the  picture  of  kings,  knights, 
monks,  peasants,  even  children,  pinning  upon  them- 
selves the  sign  of  the  cross  and  marching  out  to  fight 
with  the  infidel  for  the  possession  of  the  Holy  Land 
that  thrills  us  all. 

It  has  been  the  fashion  to  speak  of  the  crusades  as 
mistaken  efforts  that  failed  to  accomplish  their  objects 
and  merely  drained  the  strength  of  Europe.  But,  when 
we  look  closer,  we  find  that  they  made  a  real  contribu- 
tion to  the  growth  of  Christianity. 

Feudal  Europe 

The  crusades  grew  out  of  feudalism.  With  the  main 
features  of  that  curious  social  organization  that  once 
flourished  all  over  western  Europe  we  are  familiar. 
We  know  how  the  kings  were  forced  to  pay  their  nobles 
for  help  in  time  of  war  by  grants  of  land,  exacting  in  re- 
turn only  an  oath  of  allegiance.  We  know  how  the  nobles 
again  subdivided  their  lands,  exacting  the  same  oaths 
from  their  lesser  lords.  And  so  this  passed  down  from 
king  to  prince,  from  prince  to  duke,  from  duke  to  count, 
from  count  to  baron,  until  all  society  stood  in  this 
pyramid  pattern,  with  the  serfs — the  common  people 
who  tilled  the  lands — at  the  bottom  supporting  all. 

69 


70      THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Life  was  a  rough  affair  for  these  feudal  lords.  They 
built  themselves  great  fortresses  in  which  they  might 
resist  attack,  and  then  devoted  most  of  their  time  to 
warfare  with  each  other.  Their  bonds  of  fealty  to  their 
overlords  were  slight,  and  the  kings  were  generally  mere 
figureheads.  In  Germany,  for  example,  while  there 
always  remained  an  emperor,  the  land  was  really  ruled, 
or  terrorized,  by  almost  five  hundred  independent  nobles. 

The  truce  of  God. — So  universal  became  this  prac- 
tice of  plundering  one's  neighbors  that  the  church 
began  to  feel  that  it  must  be  checked  if  any  civilization 
was  to  survive.  So  the  famous  "truce  of  God"  was 
proclaimed,  under  which  the  church  threatened  its 
most  terrible  penalties  to  such  lords  as  did  not  confine 
their  fighting  to  Monday,  Tuesday,  and  Wednesday  of 
each  week,  and  did  not  leave  churches,  monasteries, 
churchmen,  pilgrims,  merchants,  and  women  alone  all 
the  time. 

The  kings  were  inclined  to  support  such  measures 
by  the  church,  for  they  saw  many  of  their  lords  becom- 
ing too  strong  for  the  throne  to  control.  But  it  is  hard 
to  tell  just  how  much  effect  the  truce  had,  even  with 
royal  approval.  Fighting  on  any  terms  was  too  popular 
a  pastime  to  be  abandoned,  even  for  four  days  a  week. 

So  it  was  that  both  church  and  monarchy,  at  the 
close  of  the  eleventh  century,  were  eager  to  find  some 
outlet  for  the  martial  activities  of  the  barons.  This 
outlet  the  crusades  supplied. 

The  Cause  of  the  Crusades 

At  least  three  causes  combined  to  induce  the  Popes 
to  launch  the  crusades. 

The  Holy  Land  in  infidel  hands. — Most  histories 
place   emphasis  upon   the   thrill   of   horror   that   went 


THE  CHURCH  GOES  TO  WAR  71 

through  Europe  when  it  became  known  that  the  Seljuk 
Turks,  that  warhke  tribe  from  western  Asia  who  had 
succeeded  the  Arabs  in  the  leadership  of  Islam,  had 
taken  over  the  control  of  Syria  and  were  mistreating 
Christian  pilgrims  on  the  way  to  the  shrines  of  Palestine. 
Next  to  monastic  retirement,  pilgrimage  was  the  most 
popular  form  of  religious  hfe  in  the  Middle  Ages. 
All  sorts  of  virtues  were  thought  to  be  obtained  by  those 
who  personally  touched  spots  connected  with  the  earthly 
hfe  of  the  Christ,  or  famous  saints.  During  the  first 
centuries  of  Mohammedan  rule  in  Asia  Minor  the 
Arabs  made  no  objection  to  Christian  pilgrimages  to 
spots  that  were  almost  as  sacred  to  them  as  to  the 
Christians.  But  the  fierce  Turks,  who  looked  upon 
Christians  as  intolerantly  as  the  Christians  looked 
upon  them  when  they  called  them  "infidels,"  by  cruel 
torture  soon  put  an  end  to  the  making  of  pilgrimages. 

The  Eastern  empire  under  attack. — Furthermore, 
the  Turks  were  desperately  seeking  to  capture  Con- 
stantinople. They  had  pushed  their  way  up  to  the 
walls  of  that  city,  and  the  emperor  of  what  was  left 
of  the  eastern  Roman  Empire  was  able,  with  truth, 
to  warn  western  Europe  that  the  city  could  not  hold 
out  much  longer,  and  that,  once  it  fell,  the  Moham- 
medan, who  had  been  checked  in  the  West  three  hun- 
dred years  before,  would  sweep  through  this  breach  in 
the  east  to  the  peril  of  all  Europe.  To  preserve  its 
own  life,  Europe  must  thrust  back  the  menace  before 
Constantinople. 

The  chance  to  unite  the  church. — Terribly  fright- 
ened by  the  approach  of  the  Turks,  the  emperor  in 
Constantinople  made  his  appeal  for  help  to  the  Pope 
as  the  outstanding  leader  of  the  West.  This  was  not 
long  after  the  Greek  Catholic  Church  had  finally  sep- 


72       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

arated  from  the  Roman  (see  Chapter  VI).  The  Pope 
saw  in  this  situation  a  chance  to  heal  the  split,  with  his 
own  authority  as  head  of  the  church  acknowledged  in 
the  East  as  well  as  in  the  West.  Accordingly,  he  prom- 
ised to  rally  the  West  to  the  help  of  the  East,  at  a  price. 
So  it  is  that  several  times  during  the  crusading  centuries 
we  see  representatives  of  the  Popes  and  representatives 
of  the  Eastern  empire  meeting,  each  time  formally  agree- 
ing to  pay  that  price — acknowledgment  of  the  supremacy 
of  the  Pope — and  each  time  discovering  that  no  Eastern 
envoy  can  secure  delivery  of  the  promised  recognition 
by  the  masses  of  members  of  the  Greek  Church.  But 
always  this  possibility  kept  dangling  before  the  eyes 
of  the  Popes  to  move  them  to  the  proclamation  of 
further  crusades. 

Palestine  Captured  by  the  West 

It  was  in  1095  that  the  first  Pope,  Urban  II,  made 
the  appeal  that  launched  the  first  crusade.  Addressing 
the  nobility  of  France,  he  told  the  tale  of  the  Holy 
Sepulcher  in  the  hand  of  the  Turk,  and  Islam  pounding 
at  the  eastern  gate  of  Europe.  To  those  who  would 
seek  to  plant  the  cross  in  place  of  the  crescent  over 
Syria,  Urban  promised  forgiveness  of  sins,  freedom  from 
the  payment  of  interest  upon  debts,  the  right  ta  mort- 
gage their  property  against  the  wishes  of  their  feudal 
lords,  and  the  protection  of  the  church  for  their  families 
and  lands.  A  faithful  crusader,  dying  in  battle,  was  to 
have  immediate  entrance  into  heaven. 

The  appeal  of  the  Pope  caught  the  imagination  of 
that  warlike  and  romantic  age.  With  a  shout,  "God 
wills  it!"  that  was  soon  to  echo  over  all  Europe,  an 
army  was  gathered  in  France  and  Germany  that  seem- 
ingly never  doubted  its  ability  to  cross  seas  or  deserts, 


THE  CHURCH  GOES  TO  WAR  73 

as  well  as  fortified  areas,  and  capture  a  Holy  City  two 
thousand  miles  away.  And,  in  truth,  the  first  crusade 
accomplished  that  very  thing! 

The  kingdom  of  Jerusalem. — The  most  picturesque 
figure  of  that  first  crusade  was  the  wild  preacher,  Peter 
the  Hermit,  whose  eloquence  enhsted  so  large  a  part 
of  the  host.  But  Peter  proved  a  poor  enough  warrior, 
and  nothing  but  failure  would  have  come  to  the  expedi- 
tion had  not  the  knights,  with  their  well-armed  retainers, 
taken  the  lead. 

The  advance  on  Palestine  was  slow.  At  the  beginning 
there  were  dreadful  outrages  perpetrated  upon  the 
Jews  in  certain  parts  of  Europe.  Then  there  was  a 
long  wait  while  the  Turks,  at  that  time  hopelessly  at 
war  among  themselves,  were  pushed  back  from  before 
Constantinople.  Then  the  knights  turned  aside  still 
farther  to  carve  out  for  themselves  principalities  in 
Asia  Minor. 

At  last,  however,  in  1099,  the  crusade  reached  Jeru- 
salem, and  captured  it.  The  inhabitants  were  massacred 
in  a  way  that  seems  hideous  when  we  remember  that 
this  was  a  Christian  expedition  for  the  rescue  of  shrines 
connected  with  the  career  of  the  author  of  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount.  A  French  knight  was  installed  in  Jeru- 
salem as  "Defender  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher,"  and  a 
whole  kingdom  was  estabhshed,  following  Western 
models,  and  owning  religious  allegiance  to  Rome.  Addi- 
tional crusaders  came  in  shoals  from  Europe,  drawn 
by  reports  of  the  easy  wealth  that  had  been  carried 
back  when  first  the  cities  of  Asia  Minor  were  captured. 

The  Disintegration  of  the  Crusades 

There  was  nothing  in  this  sort  of  adventuring,  with 
its  mixture  of  motives  good  and  bad,  of  a  permanent 


74       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

nature.  After  the  success  of  the  first  crusade,  marred 
as  that  was,  there  is  little  in  the  history  of  the  crusades 
that  followed  to  claim  our  interest. 

Templars  and  Hospitallers. — One  curious  outgrowth 
of  the  period  was  the  orders  of  monkish  knights  formed 
to  fight  in  the  crusades.  The  most  famous  of  these 
were  the  Knights  of  the  Temple,  and  the  Hospitallers, 
or  Knights  of  Saint  John. 

The  former  was  formed  originally  to  protect  pilgrims 
in  the  Holy  Land;  the  latter  to  conduct  a  hospital  first 
established  in  Jerusalem  by  Charlemagne.  Both  be- 
came great  military  bodies,  the  backbone  of  the  war- 
fare against  the  Turk. 

In  much  the  same  way  that  support  is  given  to  mis- 
sionaries to-day,  both  were  given  enormous  grants  of 
land  and  wealth  by  people  in  Europe  who  were  not 
ready,  in  person,  to  go  crusading.  The  Templars  became 
so  powerful  that  they  aroused  the  fear  of  both  kings 
and  Popes,  and  were  finally  suppressed  bloodily  soon 
after  the  last  crusade.  The  Hospitallers,  after  being 
forced  out  of  Palestine,  defied  the  Turks  first  from  a 
base  on  the  island  of  Rhodes,  and  later  from  Malta, 
where  they  maintained  themselves  until  the  British 
Empire  took  over  their  guardianship,  after  America 
had  won  its  independence. 

Other  crusades. — In  large  measure,  the  success  of  the 
first  crusade  was  due  to  internal  dissensions  among  the 
Moslems.  When  they  were  able  to  put  their  full  strength 
in  the  field  it  was  not  long  before  the  Christian  prin- 
cipalities in  Asia  Minor  were  wiped  out.  Saladin,  the 
greatest  of  the  Mohammedan  leaders  of  that  period, 
captured  Jerusalem  before  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century. 

One  crusade  after  another  was  launched  to  push  back 
this  Moslem  counter  attack,  but  in  vain.    The  motives 


THE  CHURCH  GOES  TO  WAR  75 

of  the  crusaders  steadily  depreciated.  The  first  fine 
enthusiasm  was  lacking.  The  crusades  became  mere 
political  forays,  often  not  even  directed  against  the 
Holy  Land.  There  was  one  terrible  affair,  participated 
in  only  by  children,  who  perished  by  thousands  or  were 
sold  into  slavery.  By  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century 
the  desire  to  conquer  the  Moslem  by  the  sword  was 
exhausted. 

Raymond  Lull. — But  just  at  the  time  one  sort  of 
crusade  was  being  abandoned  another  was  beginning. 
In  1 291  Raymond  Lull,  who  had  been  inspired  to  study 
Arabic  in  order  that  he  might  preach  to  Mohammedans, 
was  expelled  from  Tunis  after  a  year  of  missionary 
work.  He  tried  a  second  time  with  a  similar  result. 
He  then  induced  the  Pope  to  order  the  teaching  of 
Greek,  Hebrew,  Chaldee,  and  Arabic  in  the  leading 
universities  of  Europe  in  order  to  equip  other  mission- 
aries— an  order  that  was  never  carried  out.  Finally 
he  again  entered  Tunis  and  there,  in  13 14,  he  suffered 
martyrdom.  Lull  was  a  forerunner  of  the  modern  kind 
of  Christian  crusade,  which  still  labors,  in  the  truest 
sense,  to  overcome  the  crescent  with  the  cross. 

What  the  Crusades  Accomplished 

And  what  did  these  two  centuries  of  warfare  accom- 
plish? Much  more  than  some  have  been  willing  to 
admit.  Let  us  enumerate  at  least  four  results  of  the 
crusades: 

1.  The  Turks  were  pushed  back  and  the  pressure 
on  the  eastern  empire  so  lessened  that  it  continued 
to  exist  for  four  centuries. 

2.  The  nobles  who  mortgaged  themselves  and  their 
retainers  to  make  these  expeditions  were  so  impov- 


76       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

erished,  in  many  cases,  that  they  could  not  con- 
tinue their  repression  of  the  non-mihtary  classes 
of  Europe. 

3.  The  horizons  of  thousands  of  men  who  had  been 
unable  to  read  or  write,  were  broadened  by  their 
contact  with  the  civilization  of  the  East.  The 
world  became  a  bigger  place  in  which  to  live. 

4.  Most  important  of  all,  the  church,  in  an  age  of 
general  disorder,  showed  its  ability  to  rally  all 
Europe  to  a  single  idea,  and  that,  in  the  eyes  of 
that  age,  a  rehgious  idea.  Thousands  of  men, 
among  them  the  proudest  princes,  were  ready  to 
enlist  under  the  Pope  to  achieve  a  distant  and 
difl&cult  objective.  So  it  was  that  the  church  came 
from  this  period  immeasurably  the  strongest 
institution  in  Europe. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 
I.  Was  the  feudal  system  a  good  or  a  bad  thing  for  its 


age 


2.  Can  you  trace  any  influences  of  the  feudal  system 
surviving  to-day? 

3.  If  you  had  lived  at  that  time,  what  cause  would 
have  most  moved  you  to  join  the  first  crusade? 

4.  What  can  you  discover  about  the  character  of  the 
men  who  made  the  crusades? 

5.  What  do  you  consider  the  most  important  result 
of  the  crusades,  and  why? 

6.  What  suggestions  for  the  modern  Christian  crusade 
of  missions  are  to  be  found  in  the  career  of  Raymond  Lull? 


CHAPTER  IX 

LIFE  AND  WORSHIP  IN  THE  MEDIEVAL 
CHURCH 

If  you  visit  the  House  of  Lords  in  England,  you  will 
find  bishops  of  the  Church  of  England  sitting  with  dukes 
and  barons  as  peers  of  the  realm.  This  is  a  modern 
reminder  of  mediseval  days,  when  the  officials  of  the 
church  held  a  rank  as  high  in  the  state  as  any  others 
of  the  nobility,  because  the  church  was  as  much  a 
feudal  power  as  any  duchy  or  principality. 

But  we  must  not  conceive  the  mediaeval  church  only 
in  terms  of  Popes  and  bishops  and  high  dignitaries. 
We  must  remember  that  it  rested  upon  the  faith  and 
allegiance  of  millions  of  humble  folk.  And  if  we  want 
to  know  what  the  church  in  mediaeval  times  was  really 
like,  we  must  try  to  see  it  through  the  eyes  of  these 
commoners. 

The  Theory  of  the  Medieval  Church 

By  the  time  of  the  crusades  the  church  had  evolved 
a  theory  as  to  its  place  in  society  that  put  it  at  the 
very  pinnacle.  And,  in  that  rough  age,  when  there  was 
little  civil  authority,  we  do  not  wonder  that  a  great 
Pope,  such  as  Gregory  VII,  could  propound  a  doctrine 
that  would  to-day  be  instantly  challenged. 

Gregory  VII. — Gregory  sat  upon  the  papal  throne 
for  only  twelve  years  (he  died  just  before  his  successor 
issued  the  call  for  the  first  crusade),  but  for  years  before 
his  elevation  he  was  the  real  power  behind  the  Pope.  He 
held  the  Pope  to  be  the  only  universal  bishop,  who 

77 


78       THE   SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

might  depose  and  reinstate  other  bishops,  and  transfer 
them  from  place  to  place. 

The  Roman  Church  was  declared  never  to  have 
erred,  and  to  be  incapable  of  erring.  No  council  could 
speak  for  the  church  without  the  Pope's  consent.  No 
person  could  be  a  true  Christian  outside  the  Roman 
Church,  and  no  book  could  be  authoritative  that  the 
Pope  had  not  approved. 

Then  Gregory  went  ahead  to  assert  his  supremacy 
over  all  earthly  rulers.  He  stated  that  he  could  depose 
kings  and  absolve  their  subjects  from  their  oaths  of 
allegiance.  He  could  annul  the  decrees  of  all  sovereigns 
or  courts,  and  any  person  in  any  country  might  appeal 
from  local  jurisdiction  to  that  of  the  Pope.  The  acts 
of  the  Pope  might  not  be  judged  by  others. 

The  church  a  feudal  power. — It  can  be  seen  that 
such  powers,  if  exercised,  would  have  made  the  church 
supreme  in  every  relation  of  life.  And  the  attempt 
was  made  by  Gregory  and  his  successors  to  exercise 
these  powers  (see  Chapter  X).  This  attempt  served 
to  weave  the  church  more  closely  into  that  leudal  struc- 
ture we  have  already  described. 

All  over  western  Europe  there  were  monasteries  and 
bishoprics  that  owned  great  stretches  of  land.  Many 
of  these  had  been  the  gifts  of  kings  and  lords  in  an  age 
when  currency  was  little  used,  and  land  the  most  common 
form  of  bestowal.  To  obtain  these  gifts  the  bishops 
and  abbots  frequently  took  the  oath  of  fealty  to  their 
givers.  And  often  the  clergy  tried  to  insure  protection 
for  their  possessions  by  swearing  fealty  to  some  neigh- 
boring powerful  lord. 

The  all-inclusive  church. — One  other  fact  that  dis- 
tinguished the  mediaeval  church  was  its  inclusiveness. 
The  theory  was  that  all   the  states  of  Europe  were 


LIFE  AND  WORSHIP  79 

Christian,  and  that,  therefore,  all  their  subjects  must 
be  Christians.  As  membership  in  the  church  was  the 
only  way  of  showing  such  allegiance,  everyone  was 
considered  a  member  of  the  church,  and  taxed  accord- 
ingly. To  deny  that  church  membership  was  treason 
to  the  state  as  much  as  to  the  church,  which  accounts 
for  the  way  in  which  Jews  were  ill  treated,  and  for  the 
terrible  punishments  visited  upon  condemned  heretics. 

Life  in  the  Medieval  Church 

What  sort  of  a  life  was  it  that  went  on  inside  this 
vast  body?  We  see  abuses,  to  be  sure,  but  we  must 
recognize  that  the  church  also  rendered  vast  services. 

Abuses  in  church  leadership. — Every  history  of  the 
period  tells  us  much  of  the  abuses  that  were  frequently 
to  be  found  in  the  high  places  of  the  church.  So  inter- 
mingled with  the  political  order  of  the  time  had  the 
church  become  that  it  was  inevitable  that  unworthy 
men  would  aspire  to  the  power  inherent  in  its  important 
positions.  Men  of  worldly  nature,  frequently  openly 
immoral,  became  bishops,  cardinals,  even  Popes.  Some- 
times kings,  attempting  to  control  the  course  of  the 
church,  appointed  their  courtiers  to  wealthy  benefices. 
Rumors  as  to  irregularities  within  the  monasteries  and 
convents  were  frequently  heard.  These  evils  actually 
existed,  as  they  might  be  expected  to  grow  up  in  a 
body  that  had  no  competition  to  cause  it  to  be  careful 
of  the  sources  of  its  own  power. 

Faithful  service  predominant. — But  while  such  con- 
ditions existed,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  there  were 
scattered  over  Europe  thousands  of  humble  parish 
priests  and  gentle  scholarly  souls  within  the  monas- 
teries rendering  faithfully  the  service  expected  of  them. 
We  do  not  read  much  about  such  men,  just  as  to-day 


8o       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

it  is  the  outrageous  act  that  is  reported  in  the  news- 
paper to  the  neglect  of  the  daily  performance  of  duty. 
But  we  know  there  were  such,  or  inevitably  the  struc- 
ture of  the  church  would  have  come  crashing  down. 
There  were  plenty  of  covetous  lords  who  would  have 
worked  to  bring  this  to  pass,  but  the  devotion  of  the 
masses  of  the  people  to  their  priests  was  so  deep  that 
they  dared  not  try  it. 

We  get  a  ghmpse  of  this  same  spirit  in  the  career  of 
Saint  Francis  of  Assisi  and  the  order  of  travehng  brothers 
he  founded.  It  was  the  ideal  of  Saint  Francis  that 
his  Franciscans  should  embrace  poverty,  and  go  about 
Europe  entirely  dependent  upon  the  bounty  of  the 
people,  preaching  as  they  went.  The  response  to  such 
an  ideal  was  instant,  and  the  order  grew  to  vast  pro- 
portions, losing,  alas,  its  finest  features  as  it  grew. 

The  church's  opportunity. — Not  only  did  the  church, 
as  represented  by  many  of  the  humbler  priests,  bring 
its  ministries  of  comfort,  of  inspiration,  and  of  wor- 
ship, but  to  thousands  of  poor  people  it  offered  the 
only  hope  of  advancement  for  their  sons.  In  the  sense 
that  its  offices  were  open  to  men  of  all  ranks,  the  church 
was  the  only  element  of  democracy  in  mediaeval  Europe. 
There  were  Popes  whose  fathers  had  been  peasants. 
Luther,  who  achieved  distinction  as  an  Augustinian 
before  he  broke  with  the  Roman  Church,  never  ceased 
to  boast  that  his  father  and  his  grandfather  before 
him  had  been  peasants.  The  church  and  the  monastery 
symbolized  to  the  common  folk  of  feudal  times  that 
most  precious  of  possessions — an  opportunity  for  their 
children  to  rise  in  the  world. 

Worship  in  the  Medieval  Church 
So  we  find  in  mediaeval  Europe  a  church  that  claimed 


LIFE  AND  WORSHIP  8i 

all  men  as  its  members,  that  exacted  taxes  from  all, 
and  that  probably  meant  more  to  most  common  men 
than  king  or  court.  What  sort  of  worship  did  such  a 
church  offer? 

The  growth  of  ritual.— We  have  seen  (see  Chap- 
ter I)  how  simple  was  the  worship  in  the  Christian 
churches  within  the  Roman  Empire  a  century  or  so 
after  Christ.  But  as  time  passed,  as  the  church  became 
the  ally  of  the  state,  as  the  influence  of  various  other 
faiths  made  itself  felt,  a  far-reaching  change  took  place. 
When  the  clergy  became  sharply  distinguished  from  the 
laity,  it  was  felt  that  they  should  have  acts  to  perform 
that  no  layman  would  ever  attempt.  So  there  grew  up 
an  elaborate  ritual,  that  only  years  of  study  could  make 
one  competent  to  conduct.  By  the  Middle  Ages,  the 
proper  performance  of  this  ritual  comprised  the  most 
important,  and  frequently  the  only,  element  in  worship. 

This  ritual  was  conducted  in  Latin,  which  is  still 
the  official  language  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
Accordingly,  in  feudal  times  it  was  largely  incompre- 
hensible to  the  congregations,  and  often,  if  some  de- 
tractors were  to  be  believed,  to  the  priests  themselves. 
Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  Ivanhoe,  depicts  a  jester  success- 
fully passing  as  a  priest  by  the  use  of  a  single  Latin 
phrase.  It  must  be  acknowledged  that,  in  feudal  Europe, 
the  actual  words  of  the  ritual  or  of  the  Vulgate  version 
of  the  Bible  that  was  read  in  the  churches  had  little 
meaning  to  hosts  of  worshipers. 

The  sacraments. — This  ritual  grew  up  largely  in  the 
celebration  of  the  seven  sacraments  that  were  held  to 
be  essential  to  salvation.  These  were  baptism,  the 
Lord's  Supper,  penance,  confirmation,  matrimony, 
orders,  and  extreme  unction.  To  these,  particularly 
to  the  first  two,  was  given  a  mysterious,  almost  magical, 


82       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

valuation,  so  that  it  was  believed  that  one  who  had 
been  baptized  and  who  died  at  peace  with  the  church, 
not  debarred  from  any  of  these  sacraments,  was  sure 
of  eternal  bliss. 

So  generally  was  this  theory  of  the  sacraments  accepted 
that  when  the  Pope  placed  an  interdict  upon  a  state, 
forbidding  the  sacraments  to  the  people,  terror  ensued, 
and  frequently  popular  uprisings.  Kings  learned  to 
cower  before  this  terrible  weapon  of  the  church.  In 
the  main,  it  can  be  said  that  worship  in  feudal  Europe 
consisted  in  participation  in  the  required  sacra- 
ments. 

The  building  of  the  cathedrals. — The  place  held  by 
the  church  in  the  life  of  mediaeval  Europe  is  suggested 
by  the  greatest  survival  of  those  times,  the  cathedrals. 
Immense  fortunes  must  have  been  contributed  to  the 
making  of  these  stupendous  monuments,  and  centuries 
were  required  to  complete  many  of  them.  How  were 
the  people  encouraged  to  undertake  such  enterprises? 

The  normal  income  of  the  church,  large  as  it  was, 
would  never  have  sufficed  to  build  the  cathedrals. 
But  the  church  in  those  days  fostered  certain  great 
fears  that  induced  men  to  give  large  sums  in  addition 
to  those  they  usually  contributed.  The  greatest  of  these 
fears  was  that  of  the  end  of  the  world.  It  was  univer- 
sally believed  that  this  would  occur  in  the  year  looo, 
and  men  of  all  ranks  contributed  to  secure  their  own 
salvation.  A  study  of  the  history  of  the  cathedrals 
shows  that  most  of  them  obtained  their  great  impulse 
at  that  time.  And  we  shall  see  (see  Chapter  XIII) 
that  the  greatest  cathedral  of  Catholicism  owed  its 
completion  to  the  purchases  of  indulgences,  because 
of  the  fear  of  purgatory  that  had  been  inspired  in  men's 
hearts. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  LIFE  OF  MEDIEVAL  EUROPE 

Just  as  the  cathedrals  towered  over  the  towns,  so  the  church  overshadowed  the  think- 
ing of  those  days. 


LIFE  AND  WORSHIP  83 

The  Common  Man  and  the  Church 

So  the  life  of  the  common  man  in  mediasval  Europe 
was,  from  birth,  tied  up  with  the  church.  When  he  was 
a  few  days  old  he  was  baptized,  and  became,  in  theory, 
from  that  time  a  good  Christian,  At  the  middle  of 
boyhood,  after  some  slight  teaching  by  the  priest,  he 
was  confirmed  in  the  church,  and  partook  of  his  first 
communion.  When  he  fell  into  sin  he  confessed  his 
wrong  to  the  priest,  and  did  what  penance  was  required. 

Perhaps  the  land  upon  which  he  lived  belonged  to 
some  monastery.  Then  most  of  his  income  went  to  sup- 
port that  place.  Or  if  he  lived  on  land  of  his  own,  or 
was  a  tradesman,  he  gave  a  required  tax  yearly  when 
the  priest  demanded  it  of  him. 

When  he  married,  the  priest  performed  the  ceremony. 
When  his  son  was  born  he  determined  that  a  better 
lot  should  be  his,  and  gave  him  early  into  the  keeping 
of  the  monastery  for  training  as  a  priest.  As  long  as 
the  priest  did  not  deny  him  participation  in  the  Lord's 
Supper  he  felt  himself  spiritually  satisfied.  And  when 
the  last  hours  of  his  life  drew  near,  the  priest,  who  had 
been  his  friend  so  long,  administered  extreme  unction, 
and  he  died  sure  of  heaven. 

It  was  a  naive,  and  in  many  ways  a  mechanical, 
attitude  toward  religion.  But  it  served  for  centuries 
to  satisfy  the  inner  longings  of  millions. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1 .  Give  a  more  detailed  account  of  the  career  of  Gregory 
VII. 

2.  How  did  the  church  in  feudal  times  differ  from  the 
church  of  the  present? 

3.  Give  a  description  of  the  life  of  Saint  Francis  of 
Assisi. 


84       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

4.  How  does  the  Protestant  theory  of  the  sacraments 
differ  from  that  of  the  Roman  CathoHc  Church?  Just 
what  is  a  "sacrament"? 

5.  Describe  the  architecture  of  some  of  the  great 
cathedrals.     Name  several  of  the  most  famous. 

6.  Explain  what  is  meant  by  "indulgence"  as  used  in 
this  chapter.  Does  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  dis- 
pense indulgences  to-day? 


CHAPTER  X 
CHURCH  AND  STATE 

It  was  the  Pope  who  ralKed  western  Europe  to  the 
crusades.  But  it  was  the  nobihty  who  provided  the 
soldiers  for  those  great  adventures.  And  it  was  the 
kings  who,  at  the  end,  led. 

Vast  readjustments  followed  those  expeditions.  Many 
of  the  lords  had  been  impoverished.  While  they  had 
spent  themselves  in  foreign  lands,  the  merchant  classes 
at  home  had  seized  the  chance  to  increase  in  power. 
At  the  same  time  the  weakness  of  the  nobles  made  it 
possible  for  the  kings  to  assert  the  authority  of  the 
crown.  And  behind  all  ruled  the  power  in  Rome  that 
claimed  to  rule  even  the  kings. 

So  that,  by  the  end  of  the  crusades,  the  stage  was  set 
in  Europe  for  that  struggle  that  has  continued  down  to 
this  day,  the  struggle  for  supremacy  between  church, 
the  aristocratic  state,  and  the  common  people. 

When  the  Church  Ruled  Europe 

In  the  beginning  it  seemed  certain  that  the  church 
would  win  this  struggle.  From  the  day  when  a  Pope 
induced  the  Huns  to  turn  from  Rome  without  plunder- 
ing the  city,  the  influence  of  the  papacy  had  been  grow- 
ing. Despite  periods  when  weak  men  or  unworthy  men 
had  been  upon  the  papal  throne,  the  papacy  had  re- 
mained throughout  the  centuries  as  the  one  fixed  author- 
ity to  which  men  might  look  while  the  kingdoms  of 
mediaeval  Europe  were  running  their  brief  courses. 
And  we  have  seen  how,  under  such  a  Pope  as  Gregory 
VII,  the  theory  of  the  church's  authority  was  developed. 

85 


86       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Unenviable  position  of  kings. — To  anyone  who 
travels  in  Europe  to-day  and  sees  the  abbeys  that 
still  remain,  or  finds  great  cities  that  were  once  the 
possession  of  bishops,  and  then  remembers  that  for 
eight  centuries  or  more  men  have  been  busily  wiping 
out  these  evidences  of  churchly  ownership,  it  is  graph- 
ically clear  that,  at  the  time  about  which  we  are  speak- 
ing, a  very  large  part  of  the  surface  of  Germany,  France, 
Italy,  and  England  was  owned  by  the  church.  So  that 
the  kings  had  above  them  a  papacy  claiming  the  right 
to  rule  them,  and  below  them  a  large  part  of  their 
realms  in  the  hands  of  men  who  rendered  their  first 
allegiance  to  that  same  papacy.  It  is  hardly  to  be  won- 
dered that  strong  kings  grew  restive  under  such  condi- 
tions, and  determined  to  alter  them. 

The  Power  of  the  Kings  Begins  to  Grow 

At  the  beginning  of  the  two  centuries  of  crusading 
there  was  scarcely  a  strong  king  in  Europe.  But  before 
the  end  of  those  two  centuries,  the  kings  had  begun  to 
assert  the  leadership  which  they  have  continued  to 
hold  in  European  affairs  until  almost  the  present. 

The  towns  gather  wealth. — When  a  feudal  lord 
fell  in  with  the  fashion  of  that  day  and  vowed  to 
make  a  crusade,  his  first  requisite  was  for  equipment 
for  his  retainers.  Relying  upon  the  booty  he  meant 
to  bring  back  from  the  East  to  repay  his  debts,  he 
mortgaged  himself  to  the  merchants  and  mechanics  of 
the  towns  and  sallied  forth  to  the  rescue  of  the  Holy 
Sepulcher. 

But  few  of  the  crusaders  came  back  wealthy.  And 
when  they  did,  they  found  that,  in  their  absence,  the 
towns  had  taken  advantage  of  the  rest  from  the  con- 
stant raiding  that  had   gone   before  the  crusades,   to 


CHURCH  AND  STATE  87 

throw  up  walls  and  consolidate  their  own  position.  It 
proved  impossible  for  these  barons  to  check  the  rising 
wealth  of  the  town  merchants,  who  foreclosed  their 
mortgages  in  a  most  ungallant  fashion. 

Moreover,  the  towns  threw  in  their  lot  with  the 
kings  as  against  the  nobles.  The  lords  lived  in  isolated 
castles;  the  kings  built  their  palaces  in  the  towns.  The 
wealth  of  the  towns  was  at  the  disposal  of  the  king, 
who,  in  return,  gave  the  protection  of  his  army.  Power 
has  a  way  of  gravitating  into  the  hands  of  those  with 
wealth,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  king  and  the 
town  formed  an  alHance  of  greater  power  than  the 
isolated  and  almost  bankrupt  barons. 

Frederick  II. — Of  all  the  kings  of  this  period, 
Frederick  II  was  the  most  interesting.  For  one  thing, 
he  did  his  own  thinking.  Although  he  was  under  the 
instruction  of  the  papacy  from  boyhood,  he  exhibited 
a  notable  tolerance  toward  all  systems  of  thought, 
whether  orthodox  or  not.  He  seemed  to  be  determined 
to  rule  his  empire  (he  was  King  of  Sicily  as  well  as  Em- 
peror of  Germany)  as  he  pleased,  without  interference 
by  the  Pope.  As  a  youth  he  had  pledged  himself  to 
make  a  crusade.  When  the  Pope  pressed  him  to  start 
he  was  too  busy  making  his  throne  secure,  and  was 
excommunicated  for  his  tardiness.  When  Frederick 
got  ready  to  go,  the  Pope  was  not  ready  to  have  him, 
and  excommunicated  him  again  for  starting.  None 
the  less,  he  went  and  actually  won  control  of  Jerusalem, 
where  he  was  recognized  as  King.  To  the  end  of  his 
life  he  continued  to  go  his  own  way,  almost  always  at 
outs  with  the  Pope. 

Customs  That  Forced  the  Issue 
So,  in  the  career  of  Frederick  II,  we  see  epitomized 


88       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

the  struggle  between  the  church,  represented  by  the 
Pope,  and  the  state,  represented  by  the  King,  that 
filled  the  last  years  of  mediaeval  Europe.  First  the 
kings,  as  we  have  seen,  won  the  upper  hand  over  their 
nobles.  Then  they  felt  themselves  strong  enough  to 
challenge  the  claims  of  the  papacy.  In  studying  that 
bitter  struggle  we  find  that  there  were  one  or  two  par- 
ticular issues  upon  which  it  was  fought  out.  What 
were  they? 

Investiture. — The  church,  in  its  ownership  of  lands, 
had,  as  we  know,  become  a  part  of  the  feudal  system. 
Bishops  and  abbots  frequently  maintained  their  men- 
at-arms,  and  rode  to  war  with  all  the  zest  of  lay  barons. 
These  benefices  were,  in  many  cases,  very  rich,  and 
naturally,  they  were  greatly  coveted. 

But  who  was  to  fill  these  benefices?  In  the  case  of 
a  lay  baron,  the  title  and  lands  descended  from  father 
to  son,  and  when  the  line  became  extinct  the  king 
bestowed  it  upon  whom  he  pleased,  exacting  a  new 
pledge  of  fealty,  or  gathered  it  back  into  his  own  posses- 
sions. But  when  a  bishop  or  an  abbot  died,  unless  he 
was  married  and  left  children,  his  title,  land,  and  power 
would  pass  into  other  hands. 

Who  was  to  say  whose  hands  these  should  be?  The 
Pope  claimed  the  right  to  name  all  clerical  leaders. 
But  that  gave  the  real  control  of  a  large  part  of  every 
kingdom  to  a  man  in  Rome,  who  was  already  feared 
by  the  kings  because  of  the  powers  he  claimed.  More- 
over, the  kings  felt  that  these  great  church  holdings 
were  only  secondarily  religious  affairs,  but  that  they 
were  most  sought  for  the  temporal  power  they  gave. 
And  the  kings  proposed  to  say  who  should  possess  all 
temporal  power  in  their  realms. 

As  often  as  a  strong  king  came  to  any  of  the  thrones 


CHURCH  AND  STATE  89 

of  western  Europe  this  struggle  with  the  Pope  as  to 
who  was  to  fill  these  rich  benefices  was  sure  to  be  re- 
vived. It  began  with  Charlemagne,  and  it  persisted 
for  four  centuries.  In  the  days  of  a  strong  Pope,  such 
as  Gregory  VII,  the  papacy  would  control  the  choice 
of  most  bishops  and  abbots.  Under  a  strong  king, 
the  crown  would  do  the  appointing,  and  frequently 
would  name  laymen  or  notoriously  unworthy  clerics  as 
leaders  in  the  church. 

Both  sides  passed  laws  against  each  other.  The 
effectiveness  of  such  laws  depended  upon  the  force  of 
the  makers.  In  the  end,  as  far  as  Germany,  where  the 
struggle  was  bitterest,  was  concerned,  it  was  ended 
by  a  compromise,  whereby  the  direct  appointment  of 
bishops  and  abbots  was  left  in  the  hands  of  the  clergy, 
who  conferred  the  religious  powers.  But  the  king 
retained  the  power  to  invalidate  such  an  election  by 
refusing  to  turn  over  the  temporal  power  connected 
with  such  offices,  and  so  in  reality  held  the  control. 

Married  clergy. — Another  issue,  which  was  more 
largely  within  the  church,  was  as  to  whether  the  clergy 
should  marry.  As  we  have  said,  if  a  bishop  could  marry 
and  have  children,  it  would  not  be  long  before  his  title 
and  benefice  would  be  inherited  like  that  of  any  lay 
lord.  But  Gregory  VII  won  the  fight  for  a  cehbate 
clergy. 

Legal  jurisdiction. — Greater  trouble  was  made  by  the 
claim  of  the  church  that  it  alone  had  power  to  decide 
legal  issues  concerning  itself,  or  in  which  clergy,  monks, 
students,  crusaders,  widows,  orphans,  and  the  help- 
less were  involved.  "All  cases  where  the  rites  of  the 
church,  or  its  prohibitions,  were  involved  came  ordinarily 
before  the  church  courts,  as,  for  example,  those  con- 
cerning marriage,  wills,  sworn  contracts,  usury,  bias- 


90       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

phemy,  sorcery,  heresy,  and  so  forth. "^  We  do  not 
wonder  that  the  kings  did  not  relish  having  such  a  wide 
range  of  matters  affecting  their  subjects  removed  from 
their  jurisdiction. 

Taxes. — Finally,  church  and  state  broke  on  the 
question  of  who  was  to  collect  the  more  money.  It 
took  great  sums  to  carry  on  the  papal  court;  it  took 
great  sums  to  carry  on  each  regal  court.  The  church 
early  provided  for  the  needs  of  its  court  by  collecting 
a  tithe  of  the  income  (not  to  be  reckoned  as  an  exact 
tenth,  but  in  this  case  a  legal  title  for  the  tax)  of  all  the 
faithful  and  forwarding  it  to  Rome.  Then  the  kings 
attempted  to  levy  taxes,  after  the  passing  of  the  period 
when  they  raised  most  of  the  money  they  wanted  by 
squeezing  wealthy  Jews,  and,  of  course,  tried  to  tax 
the  wealthy  churches  and  monasteries  with  the  rest. 
The  churchmen  protested,  and  were  upheld  by  the 
Popes.  Popes  would  forbid  the  clergy  to  pay  taxes  to 
kings;  kings  would  forbid  the  shipment  of  money  out- 
side the  country.    So  the  contest  went  on. 

Dramatic  Moments  in  the  Struggle 

In  that  long  struggle  there  were  many  dramatic 
moments.    We  can  mention  but  three. 

Canossa. — Germany  to-day  still  remembers,  and 
resents,  the  cold  December  night  when  Henry  IV,  the 
young  Emperor,  stood  barefoot  in  the  snow  in  the  court- 
yard of  the  castle  of  Canossa,  in  Italy,  seeking  forgive- 
ness at  the  hands  of  Gregory  VII,  the  Pope,  who  was 
within.  The  Pope  and  the  Emperor  had  quarreled, 
principally  on  the  subject  of  investitures.  In  the  begin- 
ning, Henry  had  the  upper  hand,  and  had  called  a 
council  of  German  prelates  that  had  declared  Gregory 

»J.  H.  Robinson,  Op.  cit.,  p.  183. 


CHURCH  AND  STATE  91 

deposed.  But  Gregory  replied  by  excommunicating 
the  king,  releasing  his  subjects  from  their  oaths  of 
allegiance;  and  unwise  statecraft  on  the  part  of  that 
monarch  made  it  seem  that  his  most  powerful  nobles 
would  seize  that  opportunity  to  depose  him.  Only  by 
obtaining  pardon  from  the  Pope  could  he  hold  his 
throne.  The  manner  in  which  the  Pope  humihated 
him  marks  the  apex  of  the  temporal  power  of  that 
office.  Before  he  died  Gregory  had  been  shown  that 
he  could  not  exercise  such  despotic  power  unceasingly. 

The  humiliation  of  John. — Again  the  papacy  showed 
its  power  when  Innocent  III  forced  King  John  of 
England,  at  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
to  surrender  his  entire  country  to  the  Pope,  and  receive 
it  back  again  as  a  fief.  John  found  himself  in  a  quarrel 
with  the  monks  of  Canterbury.  When  the  Pope  at 
last  rendered  judgment  the  king  refused  to  submit. 
The  Pope  placed  all  England  under  an  interdict,  thus 
closing  the  churches  and  keeping  from  all  the  people 
the  sacraments. 

In  an  age  when  it  was  thought  necessary  to  salvation 
to  partake  of  the  sacraments  this  was  a  terrible  pun- 
ishment. The  people  of  England  were  incensed  against 
the  monarch  who  had  brought  it  upon  them.  The 
Pope  called  upon  the  King  of  France  to  take  an  army 
to  punish  John,  and  the  French  king  joyfully  prepared 
to  carry  out  the  task.  Fearing  the  anger  of  his  people 
at  his  back  and  the  invasion  of  an  enemy  from  abroad, 
John  hastened  to  Rome  and  handed  over  his  kingdom 
to  Innocent.  The  Pope  gave  it  back  to  him  as  his  vassal. 
This  exhibition  of  kingly  weakness  and  papal  strength 
helped  to  make  the  English  ready  to  take  their  fate 
into  their  own  hands,  and  the  signing  of  the  Magna 
Charta  was  the  result. 


92       THE   SPREAD   OF  CHRISTIANITY 

The  Babylonian  captivity. — Now  we  see  a  picture  of 
another  sort.  In  1300  the  Pope  proclaimed  a  jubilee, 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  pilgrims  thronged  to 
Rome  and  rained  money  into  the  papal  treasuries. 
Apparently,  the  papacy  was  never  stronger.  But,  at 
the  same  time,  a  strong  king  was  strengthening  his 
position  at  the  head  of  France,  and  while  the  papacy 
was  celebrating,  Philip  the  Fair  was  putting  himself 
at  the  head  of  a  nationalistic  movement  that  would 
not  recognize  the  right  of  Popes  to  rule  in  temporal 
affairs. 

Philip  first  humihated  the  Pope,  Boniface  VIII, 
when  one  of  his  representatives  publicly  insulted  him 
at  Anagni.  And  when  Boniface  died  of  a  broken  spirit 
Philip  secured  the  election  of  an  archbishop  of  Bordeaux 
to  the  vacant  papacy,  and  brought  it  to  pass  that  the 
Popes  for  seventy  years  thereafter  lived  in  Avignon, 
a  city  where  they  were  almost  geographically  and  wholly 
in  practice  under  the  control  of  the  French  monarchy. 

Who  Won? 

This  is  the  question  we  are  bound  to  ask  after  read- 
ing of  such  a  struggle.  Who  won.  Pope  or  Emperor? 
Surely,  the  incident  at  Anagni  and  the  Babylonian 
captivity  gives  us  the  answer.  It  was  a  long  way  from 
Canossa,  with  the  barefoot  Emperor  humbly  kneeling 
in  the  snow,  to  Anagni. 

Christians  have  always  declared,  and  still  hold,  that 
they  work  toward  a  day  when  God's  will  shall  be  the 
supreme  factor  in  all  afTairs.  But,  until  the  time  when 
a  priest  or  minister  can  be  protected  against  the  influ- 
ence of  ignorance,  personal  prejudice  or  self-seeking, 
we  will  probably  agree  that  the  road  from  Canossa 


CHURCH  AND  STATE  93 

to  Anagni  was  one  that,  for  the  welfare  of  the  nations, 
had  to  be  traveled. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  Upon  what  theory  did  the  Pope  base  his  assertion 
of  supreme  power?  To  what  extent  is  that  theory 
valid?     How  is  it  to  be  applied  in  practice? 

2.  Describe,  more  fully  than  in  this  chapter,  the 
struggle  between  Gregory  VII  and  Henry  IV. 

3.  In  what  way  did  the  effort  of  the  papacy  to  control 
England  contribute  to  the  liberty  of  the  English? 

4.  What  other  reasons,  besides  those  given  in  the  text, 
can  you  find  for  the  opposition  of  the  Pope  to  a  married 
clergy? 

5.  Can  you,  using  mediaeval  Europe  as  an  example, 
discover  any  connection  between  wealth  and  churchly 
vigor? 

6.  Give  a  comprehensive  definition  or  explanation  of 
these  terms:  Abbey;  benefice;  investiture;  fief;  interdict. 


CHAPTER  XI 
THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  AGE 

From  the  crusades,  we  have  seen,  Europe  passed 
into  the  climax  of  that  struggle  that  was  to  prove  that 
the  church  was  not  to  exercise  supreme  power,  save  in 
religious  affairs.  Now  we  are  to  study  another  develop- 
ment that  grew  out  of  the  same  period,  and  was  of  even 
more  far-reaching  importance. 

Christianity  has  prospered  as  it  has  spread.  That 
was  the  proposition  with  which  we  began  our  course. 
To  it  we  now  return  for  an  explanation  of  that  won- 
derful period  men  have  spoken  of  as  the  revival  of 
learning  and  the  Renaissance — the  days  of  a  "new  birth." 

New  Currents  in  the  Minds  of  Europe 

There  are  two  transforming  experiences  that  come  to 
most  men.  The  first  is  to  read  a  book,  and  the  second 
is  to  take  a  journey. 

For  years  Europe,  thrown  into  anarchy  by  the  col- 
lapse of  the  western  Roman  Empire,  had  been  struggling 
to  work  out  a  settled  political  order.  Men  had  given 
their  first  attention  to  that  effort,  often  bhndly.  They 
had  not  traveled;  they  had  not  read.  As  a  result, 
their  minds — always  excepting  those  who  lived  within 
the  church — had  gone  to  seed,  and  they  had  been  con- 
tent to  accept  without  critical  examination  such  doc- 
trines as  their  priests  gave  them. 

Then  all  Europe  went  on  a  journey.  It  brought 
contact  with  a  civUization  immensely  superior  in  culture 

94 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  AGE  95 

and  learning  to  the  rude,  unlettered  life  of  feudal  Europe. 
And  men  of  imagination  of  all  ranks,  priests  as  well  as 
laymen,  came  back  to  begin  to  spread  through  the  west 
the  same  sort  of  mental  outlook  that  had  been  found 
in  the  east. 

Scholasticism. — The  first  result  was  seen  in  the  line 
of  teachers  who  attempted  to  reduce  the  thought  of 
that  day  to  a  system.  These  are  generally  known  as 
the  Schoolmen,  and  their  contribution  to  European  life 
as  Scholasticism. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  call  the  roll  of  these 
Schoolmen,  among  whom  were  such  keen  minds  as 
Anselm  and  Abelard  and  Aquinas.  It  is  sufficient  to 
remember  that  they  first  began  to  discuss  theology 
and  philosophy  in  much  the  same  way  that  they  are 
discussed  to-day,  and  that  they  were  not  satisfied  until 
they  had  worked  out  balanced  and  consistent  systems 
for  all  these. 

To  be  sure,  they  were  badly  restricted  in  their  teach- 
ing. Only  the  orthodox  doctrine  of  the  church  was 
then  regarded  as  a  proper  subject  for  discussion,  and 
practically  the  only  permitted  author  outside  the  writers 
of  the  Bible  was  Aristotle,  distorted  by  the  bad  Latin 
versions  in  which  he  was  studied.  But  for  all  that,  and 
despite  the  emptiness  of  much  of  the  effort  of  these 
Schoolmen,  we  must  admit  that  they  awakened  minds 
everywhere  throughout  western  Europe  to  a  desire  to 
discover  underlying  truths  and  ultimate  facts. 

The  rise  of  the  universities. — Naturally,  these 
teachers  drifted  toward  various  centers.  And  naturally, 
students  followed  to  hear  what  the  teachers  might  have 
to  say.  The  teachers  were,  in  practically  every  case, 
clergymen,  but  often  the  students  had  no  intention  of 
entering  the  church.     This,  in  itself,  marked  a  trans- 


96       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

formation  from  the  days  when  all  learning  had  been 
confined  to  the  cloisters. 

Cities  and  princes  began  to  vie  with  one  another 
to  attract  great  teachers  and  large  numbers  of  students. 
Thus  the  universities  came  into  being.  Before  the  end 
of  the  twelfth  century  the  University  of  Paris  was  born. 
Followed  that  the  University  of  Bologna.  Then  a  group 
of  English  students  became  dissatisfied  for  some  reason 
in  Paris  and  returned  to  their  homeland  to  found  the 
University  of  Oxford.  By  the  end  of  the  thirteenth 
century  there  were  universities  scattered  throughout 
Germany,  France,  Spain,  and  Italy,  and  in  them  was 
fomenting  that  exuberant  mental  life  that  was  to  change 
the  whole  history  of  the  Christian  Church. 

Finding  a  Forgotten  World 

One  of  the  first  things  that  this  awakening  mental 
life  did  was  to  lead  the  students  to  suspect  the  great- 
ness of  the  past.  Madly  they  began  searching  in  the 
debris  of  the  centuries  beneath  their  feet. 

The  rediscovery  of  Latin  and  Greek. — The  top 
layer,  and  so  the  first  to  be  uncovered,  was  that  Latin 
literature  from  which  the  speech  of  France  and  Spain 
and  Italy  derived.  To  be  sure,  Latin,  in  a  debased 
form,  had  been  kept  alive  by  the  church  in  all  the  cen- 
turies. But  almost  the  only  idea  of  the  real  glories  of 
Latin  literature  was  that  preserved  in  some  of  the  poems 
of  Vergil. 

To  an  Italian,  Petrarch,  who  lived  for  seventy  years 
in  the  fourteenth  century,  must  go  much  of  the  honor 
for  the  real  rediscovery  of  Latin  literature.  Under  his 
enthusiasm  there  were  brought  to  light  Cicero  and 
Horace  and  all  the  others  of  whom  we  think  to-day 
when  Latin  is  mentioned.     And  the  students  in  the 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  AGE  97 

universities  threw  themselves  in  a  frenzy  of  delight 
into  a  study  of  the  mighty  thoughts  that  these  ancients, 
whose  mental  hfe  had  been  so  rich,  had  brought  forth. 

Before  he  died  Petrarch  had  more  than  a  hint  of 
another  and  a  greater  literature  hidden  below  Latin. 
Early  in  the  fifteenth  century  men  began  to  cross  from 
Constantinople  to  Italy  to  teach  Greek.  At  the  middle 
of  the  century  the  eastern  empire  at  last  gave  up  the 
long  struggle,  and  abandoned  the  city  to  the  Ottoman 
Turks.  And  then  there  fled  to  western  Europe  a  swarm 
of  teachers  who  brought  to  the  eager  scholars  Aristotle 
in  his  original  Greek  form,  and  Plato,  and  Homer, 
and  all  the  rest  of  that  glorious  company  who  made 
the  name  Greek  synonymous  with  outreaching,  pen- 
etrating thought. 

Secular  literature  again  to  the  fore. — One  imme- 
diate effect  of  this  expanding  mental  life  is  to  be  seen 
in  the  books  that  began  to  be  written.  From  the  time 
of  the  downfall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  practically  the 
entire  literary  output  had  been  of  a  religious  nature. 
Even  the  great  Schoolmen  had  confined  themselves 
to  theological  subjects,  or  subjects  that  could  be  pre- 
sented under  theological  guises. 

But  when  these  mighty  Latins  and  Greeks  began  to 
move  about  once  more  inside  the  minds  qf  men  a  new 
kind  of  literature  began  to  be  written.  Its  first,  and 
greatest,  expression  came  in  Italy's  poet,  Dante.  To 
be  sure,  Dante,  in  his  Paradise  and  his  Purgatory,  held 
to  religious  subjects,  even  though  he  indulged  in  pene- 
trating social  criticism.  But  in  his  Monarchy  the  great 
Italian  struck  out  boldly  into  a  discussion  of  the  basis 
of  government,  and  while  he  remains  the  preeminent 
poet  of  Catholicism,  set  forth  a  theory  that  repudiated 
the  authority  of  the  Pope  in  secular  affairs. 


98       THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Hardly  was  Dante  dead  before  Petrarch  came  with 
his  sonnets,  fashioned  after  the  Latin  model.  Then 
came  Boccaccio,  whose  studies,  although  they  smack 
of  the  coarseness  of  that  time,  give  us  a  satirical  crit- 
icism of  the  mediaeval  church.  And  a  Venetian,  Marco 
Polo,  was  recalled  from  oblivion  by  the  widespread 
publication  of  his  travels  through  the  Far  East. 

Erasmus. — But  probably  the  most  influential  voice 
that  spoke  out  of  this  day  of  awakening  was  that  of 
Erasmus.  Born  in  Holland  about  ten  years  after  Con- 
stantinople fell  into  Turkish  hands,  he  lived  in  France, 
England,  Italy,  and  Germany,  and  stood  everywhere 
as  the  incarnation  of  his  time. 

Erasmus  was  a  churchman.  As  a  boy  he  had  been 
forced  into  the  church  against  his  will,  but  once  there 
he  was  content  to  remain,  and  to  bring  about  such 
reforms  as  seemed  necessary  to  him  by  working  on  the 
inside.  In  this  we  find  the  element  that  distinguished 
Erasmus  from  many  who  were  his  contemporaries.  He 
believed  in  reform,  but  he  feared  revolution.  To 
Erasmus,  Luther  and  his  friends  must  have  seemed 
like  anarchists. 

Erasmus  accompHshed  most  through  two  books. 
One  of  them  was  called  The  Praise  of  Folly.  In  it  folly 
was  personified,  and  pointed  out  the  large  part  it  was 
playing  in  human  affairs.  The  hair-splitting  disputes 
of  the  theologians  were  ridiculed,  the  monks  were 
plainly  told  that  they  would  find  themselves  among 
the  goats  on  Judgment  Day,  and  even  the  Pope  was 
satirized  as  one  who  would  "turn  law,  religion,  peace, 
and  all  human  affairs  upside  down."  The  book  had 
an  enormous  sale,  and  everywhere  it  must  have  made 
men  question  the  claims  of  the  church  to  be  an  effective 
spiritual  agency. 


THE  DAWN  OF  A  NEW  AGE  99 

Then  he  contributed  to  the  discovery  of  a  safe  basis 
for  religion  by  putting  on  the  market  a  Greek  New 
Testament.  It  was  not  a  perfect  piece  of  work,  but  it 
was  immeasurably  superior  to  the  translations  in  which 
the  Gospels  and  the  letters  of  the  apostles  had  been 
preserved.  Europe  was  by  this  time  full  of  men  who 
were,  in  their  souls,  intensely  dissatisfied  with  Chris- 
tian doctrine  as  the  church  offered  it.  These,  by  hun- 
dreds, turned  to  Erasmus'  Testament,  and  there  found 
themselves  in  what  seemed  a  new  world.  And  many 
claims  that  the  church  had  been  building  through  the 
generations  found  it  hard  to  support  themselves  when 
faced  with  the  actual  Greek  text  upon  which  they  were 
supposed  to  be  based. 

It  was  largely  because  of  those  two  books  that  later 
men  coined  that  epigram  of  the  Reformation:  "Erasmus 
laid  the  egg,  and  Luther  hatched  it." 

Three  Mighty  Discoveries 

We  close  our  account  of  this  dawning  of  a  new  age 
by  speaking  of  three  discoveries  that  were  to  have  a 
great  part  in  bringing  this  new  time  to  its  fruition. 
Curiously,  we  have  learned,  in  later  years,  that  these 
were  really  not  discoveries,  but  rediscoveries.  It  may 
serve  to  make  those  of  us  who  have  sprung  from  Euro- 
pean stock  humbler  if  we  are  reminded  that  these 
discoveries  we  once  claimed  so  proudly  as  our  own 
had  been  known  for  generations  by  people  we  called 
"uncivilized"  in  China. 

Gunpowder. — If  you  mix  together  proper  amounts 
of  saltpeter,  sulphur,  and  charcoal,  you  get  a  resultant 
powder  that,  when  ignited,  explodes  with  force  suffi- 
cient to  drive  large  bodies  considerable  distances  with 
great  power.     The  gunpowder  that  was  brought  into 


loo     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

use  at  this  time  not  only  drove  its  solid  cannon  balls 
through  the  walls  of  the  feudal  castles,  but  through 
the  structure  of  feudahsm  itself.  And  it  did  much  to 
wipe  out  the  distinction  in  battle  between  the  aristocrat 
and  the  commoner.  To  a  cannon  ball,  it  made  no 
difference  whether  the  man  in  its  path  wore  steel  armor 
or  a  leather  jerkin.  War  became  a  speciahzed  pro- 
fession, to  be  engaged  in  by  trained  bands  who  had 
control  of  these  murderous  weapons.  Because  of  the 
costs,  these  professional  armies  could  be  supported  only 
by  states.  And  it  was  no  longer  possible  for  a  lord  to 
sit  in  his  moated  keep  and  defy  the  countryside. 

The  printing  press. — If  you  have  to  produce  every 
book  by  hand,  it  is  certain  that  books  will  be  so  few, 
and  their  value  so  great,  that  you  must  chain  them  to 
reading  desks,  lest  they  be  stolen.  But  when,  by  the 
use  of  type  and  presses,  it  is  possible  to  produce  any 
number  of  exact  copies  of  an  original,  books  may  be 
made  so  cheaply  that  they  may  be  possessed  by  almost 
anyone.  Of  course,  before  printing  could  be  of  much 
value,  there  must  be  something  to  print  on.  Parch- 
ment was  too  expensive,  and  too  rare.  But  by  the 
fourteenth  century  Europe  was  in  possession  of  a  Moor- 
ish process  (which  had  been  originally  obtained  by 
the  Arabs  from  China)  whereby  cloth  or  certain  grasses 
might  be  turned  into  paper.  And  then  Gutenberg,  or 
some  other,  showed  that  printing  with  movable  types 
was  feasible.  And  a  further  transformation  of  the  mind 
of  Europe  was  an  inevitable  result. 

The  compass. — If  you  let  a  magnetized  needle  swing 
freely  in  a  plane  parallel  to  the  horizon,  it  will  point 
you  to  the  north.  So  that  a  bold  man,  even  on  an 
unknown  sea,  by  the  use  of  that  instrument  we  know 
as  a  compass,  can  always  know  which  way  he  is  facing. 


THE  DAWN  OF  A   NEW  AGE         loi 

And  that  proved  knowledge  enough  to  lure  men  forth 
on  those  great  voyages  which  were  to  mark  the  final 
end  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  the  opening  of  that  age 
of  discovery  that  was  so  greatly  to  affect  Christianity. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  Can  you  suggest  the  contributions  that  univer- 
sities, and  other  centers  of  learning,  have  made  to  the 
spread  of  Christianity? 

2.  Why  should  the  rediscovery  of  a  past,  at  the  time 
of  the  Renaissance,  have  preceded  the  awakening  of 
new  energies? 

3.  Why  should  the  publication  of  a  Greek  New  Testa- 
ment have  been  an  important  event  in  Christian  history? 

4.  Can  you  see  any  relation  between  the  discovery  of 
gimpowder  and  the  passing  of  feudalism? 

5.  What  part  did  the  printing  press  play  in  the  rise 
of  Protestantism? 

6.  How  has  the  compass  contributed  to  the  spread 
of  Christianity? 


CHAPTER  XII 

NEW  CHANNELS  FOR  CHRISTIANITY'S 
SPREAD 

Now  western  Europe  possesses  the  mariner's  com- 
pass. Now  the  great  ocean  that  has  been  tempting 
beyond  the  pillars  of  Hercules  for  so  many  centuries 
is  no  longer  "trackless."  Now  the  fire  of  adventure 
begins  to  burn  within  the  seafaring  men  of  Portugal 
and  Spain  and  Italy  and  England.  Now  Christianity 
is  bestirring  itself  to  its  last  and  greatest  crusade. 

The  Opening  of  the  Age  of  Discovery 

Even  to-day,  when  ocean  travel  has  become  a  com- 
monplace, the  sailing  of  an  ocean  liner  is  a  stirring 
event.  Crowds  gather  at  the  docks  to  bid  the  travelers 
bon  voyage;  often  bands  play;  flags  and  handkerchiefs 
flutter  in  salute.  How  stirring  must  have  been  the 
departures  of  those  years  from  the  opening  of  the  second 
half  of  the  fifteenth  century  to  the  close  of  the  first 
half  of  the  sixteenth!  Any  caravel  that  dropped  down 
with  the  tide  might  come  back  with  word  of  new  lands! 
In  a  hundred  years  the  world  more  than  doubled  in  size. 

A  world  eager  for  knowledge. — If  there  is  one 
phrase  by  which  the  period  of  the  Renaissance  may 
be  described,  it  is,  "a  time  of  mental  hunger."  Men 
were  seeking  eagerly  in  every  promising  direction  for 
material  that  would  feed  their  appetite  for  more  knowl- 
edge and  a  finer  culture.  We  see,  in  the  revival  of 
learning  and  the  wonderful  examples  of  architecture, 

1 02 


NEW  CHANNELS  103 

sculpture,  and  painting  that  date  from  this  time,  how 
richly  this  search  was  rewarded. 

Inevitably,  this  desire  to  know  more  awoke  within 
men  the  spirit  of  adventure.  They  wanted  to  know 
what  was  beyond  the  margin  of  their  present  expe- 
rience. The  lands  that  thousands  had  seen  during  the 
crusades,  and  that  a  few,  such  as  the  Polo  brothers 
of  Venice,  had  seen  while  on  solitary  travels,  whispered 
of  yet  other  lands  where  wealth  awaited  the  first  comers. 
And  always  the  sea-paths  beckoned  as  the  most  direct 
route  to  these  fabled  cHmes. 

The  Portuguese  take  to  the  sea. — On  the  side  of 
the  Iberian  peninsula  that  faced  the  Atlantic  Uved  a 
people  who  were,  for  a  hundred  years,  to  exercise  an 
influence  on  human  history  out  of  all  proportion  to 
their  size.  Freed  from  the  Moors  before  the  Spaniards, 
the  Portuguese  began  to  feel  early  the  call  of  the  ocean. 

"The  northwest  corner  of  Africa  was  the  spot  where 
the  navigators,  who  were  afterward  to  reach  India  and 
America,  first  learned  their  business.  Here  Genoese 
and  Portuguese  seamen  disputed  with  the  Barbary 
Moors  for  the  glory  of  the  cross  and  the  conquest  of 
the  Guinea  coast.  This  coast  was  to  the  Saracens  the 
*Bilad  Ghana,'  or  the  Land  of  Wealth,  and  the  wealth 
consisted  in  the  first  instance  of  Negro  slaves,  for  whom 
the  ships  of  Prince  Henry  of  Portugal  pressed  down  the 
coast  and  watched  the  shores."^ 

The  discovery  of  Cape  Verde. — But  these  Portu- 
guese seamen  were  really  after  something  more  than 
Negro  slaves,  readily  as  the  social  conscience  of  that, 
day  allowed  them  to  participate  in  that  traffic.  They 
were  inspired  by  the  dream  that  perhaps  the  commonly 
held  belief  that  Africa,  below  its  northern  fringe,  was 

•F.  S.  Marvin,  The  Living  Fast,  Oxford  University  Press,  pp.  151,  152. 


I04     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

an  arid  waste,  unfit  for  white  residence,  might  be  untrue, 
and  that,  even  near  the  equator,  a  land  might  be  found 
where  Portugal  might  develop  a  great  Christian  de- 
pendency that  would  feed  wealth  into  the  impoverished 
homeland. 

In  1445  the  dream  of  the  Portuguese  came  true! 
Sailing  beyond  the  previously  explored  coast  one  day, 
a  headland  crowned  with  tropical  trees  and  a  great 
river  flowing  into  the  stream  from  the  east  were  dis- 
covered. More  Negroes  were  captured,  and  back  the 
little  ships  sailed  to  tell  their  royal  master  of  that  Cape 
Verde  (the  green  headland)  they  had  found. 

What  a  moment  that  year  1445  marked  in  the  life 
of  Europe!  On  the  Bosphorus  the  thunder  of  the  Turks 
at  the  gates  of  Constantinople  was  growing  louder  and 
louder.  Apparently,  the  century-long  fight  to  hold 
back  Islam  was  to  end  in  defeat.  A  German  named 
Gutenberg  had  brought  into  Rome  a  new  contrivance 
called  a  printing  press,  and,  in  a  panic,  the  Pope  hired 
him  to  strike  off  indulgences  for  all  who  would  volunteer 
to  serve  against  the  infidel  in  the  East.  Good  men 
everywhere,  appalled  by  the  excesses  in  the  life  of  the 
West  and  the  approach  of  the  enemy  in  the  East,  had 
begun  to  fear  lest  Christianity  be  wiped  out.  And  just 
at  that  moment  came  sailing  back  the  little  ships  to 
report  to  Prince  Henry  the  discovery  of  Cape  Verde, 
and  so  to  usher  in  a  new  age.  For  the  stream  of  dis- 
coveries that  were  now  to  follow  were  to  give  Chris- 
tianity, in  the  vigor  of  occupying  new  territory,  such  a 
power  as  it  had  never  held  before! 

The  World  a  Globe 

In  Hereford  Cathedral,  in  England,  you  may  see  a 
map  of  the  world  drawn  in  the  Middle  Ages.    The  work 


JERUSALEM,  THE  CENTER  OF  THE  UNIVERSE 

Before  the  Age  of  Discovery,  pious  map-makers  drew  upon  their  imagination  to 
show  what  the  world  was  like.  This  map,  preserved  in  Hereford  Cathedral,  Eng- 
land, shows  Jerusalem  as  the  axis  about  which  all  else  centers. 


NEW  CHANNELS  105 

of  some  pious  monk,  it  shows  in  a  fantastic  fashion  all 
the  lands  and  peoples,  circling  around  Jerusalem  as 
the  divine  center  of  the  world. 

The  influence  of  Ptolemy. — As  long  as  geographical 
knowledge  was  of  the  sort  indicated  by  that  Hereford 
map,  men  could  not  get  very  far  in  discovering  the 
real  facts  about  the  world  in  which  they  hved.  But 
the  Renaissance  turned  the  minds  of  the  navigators 
away  from  the  monkish  map-makers,  and  back  to  the 
astronomer  Ptolemy,  who  had  lived  in  Egypt  in  the 
second  century. 

Ptolemy  had  taught  that  the  world  was  a  globe, 
and  his  teaching  had  been  generally  accepted  by  the 
educated.  To  be  sure,  certain  parties  in  the  church 
had  tried  to  show  that  such  a  conception  was  not  in 
keeping  with  some  phrases  in  the  Bible.  But  we  do 
not  want  to  place  too  great  importance  on  the  stories 
that  have  been  told  of  general  ignorance  as  to  the  world's 
shape.  One  of  our  best  authorities  goes  so  far  as  to 
state  that  "All  intelligent  people  knew,  all  through  the 
Middle  Ages,  that  the  world  was  a  globe."^  In  1492 
- — fated  year! — a  German  mariner,  Behaim,  made  a 
globe  that  is  still  preserved  in  Nuremberg,  that  shows 
Europe,  Asia,  much  of  Africa,  and  the  East  Indies,  with 
Japan  (then  called  Zipangu,  the  land  of  gold)  lying  about 
half-way  across  the  ocean  between  Europe  and  Asia. 

The  influence  of  spices. — All  these  early  navigators 
were  eager  for  wealth.  One  easily  transported  form 
of  wealth  at  that  time  was  spices.  Food  was  preserved 
in  spices  in  that  day  when  ice  was  unknown,  and  food 
that  might  have  begun  to  decay  could  be  eaten  if  heavily 
spiced.  The  spice  market  was  constant  and,  because 
of  the  difficulty  of  bringing  spices  to  Europe,  high. 

*J.  H.  Robinson,  op.  cit.,  p.  236. 


io6     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

The  Portuguese  seem  to  have  concentrated  most  of 
their  attention  upon  the  reaching  of  the  regions  where 
spices  were  produced.  These  were  known  to  be  in  the 
East,  somewhere  beyond  India,  for  the  spices  had  been 
transported  for  generations  by  the  Mohammedans 
from  their  home  and  deHvered  at  eastern  Mediterranean 
ports  to  Itahan  traders,  who  distributed  them  through 
western  Europe. 

By  i486  Diaz,  a  Portuguese,  had  rounded  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  and  the  western  coast  of  Africa  was 
known  to  the  white  man.  From  that  time  it  was  inev- 
itable that  the  explorers  would  press  on  until,  as  hap- 
pened in  1498,  they  made  the  jump  from  the  eastern 
coast  across  the  Indian  Ocean,  to  find  themselves  in 
Calicut.  And  from  that  base  it  was  but  a  few  years 
before  the  Portuguese  were  in  possession  of  the  richest 
of  the  islands  to  the  southeast  of  Asia. 

Columbus  and  the  great  discovery. — Now  bring  to- 
gether this  desire  for  spices  and  easy  wealth  and  this 
theory  that  the  world  is  a  globe.  Mix  them  in  the 
eager  minds  of  such  an  age.  What  will  inevitably 
happen?  Keen  heads  began  to  believe  that  the  long 
route  of  the  Portuguese  might  be  shortened,  and  the 
wealth  they  sought  much  more  cheaply  attained,  by 
sailing  westward  until  the  East  Indies  should  be  reached. 

Of  course,  the  great  name  that  we  remember  as  having 
neld  this  idea  is  that  of  Christopher  Columbus.  This 
Genoese  sailor,  stirred  by  the  Portuguese  successes, 
tried  in  vain  for  a  time  to  secure  enough  backing  to 
make  it  possible  for  him  to  try  his  better  plan.  The 
cities  of  his  own  Italy  had  been  too  hard  hit  by  the 
capture  of  Constantinople  by  the  Turks  to  be  ready 
to  finance  such  an  undertaking.  The  Portuguese  were 
content  to  develop  the  route  they  had  already  begun 


NEW  CHANNELS  107 

to  open.  But  at  last,  at  the  court  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,  where  the  new  union  of  Spain  as  a  power  free 
from  the  Moor  was  bringing  new  energies,  Columbus 
found  his  chance. 

In  five  weeks  Columbus  had  calculated  that,  by  sail- 
ing east,  he  would  reach  Japan,  with  its  fabled  riches. 
In  thirty-two  days  he  did  sight  land,  but  we  all  know 
that  it  was  not  Japan.  Three  times  the  great  adventurer 
returned  to  the  scenes  of  his  first  quest,  and  although 
he  came  to  know  that  he  was  not  in  Japan,  to  the  day 
of  his  death  he  never  dreamed  that  he  had  found  a 
New  World. 

The  Age  of  Discovery 

And  now,  as  the  sixteenth  century  unfolds,  we  find 
ourselves  in  a  perfect  rush  of  exploration.  Scarcely  a 
year  but  sees  new  expeditions  starting,  and  a  resulting 
widening  in  the  borders  of  our  knowledge.  We  can 
only  stop  to  get  a  brief  impression  of  these  mighty 
days. 

The  Portuguese  sail  east. — The  Portuguese,  as  we 
have  seen,  held  to  the  long  route  around  the  continent 
of  Africa.  Six  years  after  Columbus  first  reached  the 
New  World,  Vasco  de  Gama  reached  India.  In  15 12 
his  successors  were  in  Java,  and  within  a  few  years 
these  adventurers  had  explored  and  fortified  that  great 
Malay  Archipelago,  almost  two  thousand  miles  in 
extent.  Then,  in  15 19,  a  Portuguese  named  Magellan, 
after  starting  in  the  familiar  southerly  direction,  turned 
west  instead  of  east,  and  disappeared  from  men's  knowl- 
edge on  the  other  side  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  at 
the  southmost  tip  of  South  America.  Three  years  later 
Magellan's  ship  came  sailing  back,  this  time  from  the 
east,  and  lo,  the  world  had  been  circumnavigated! 


io8     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

The  Spaniards  follow  Columbus. — Columbus  had 
pointed  the  way  for  the  mariners  of  Spain.  Before  his 
death  the  flags  of  Castile  waved  from  almost  every 
island  in  the  West  Indies,  and  a  footing  had  been  won 
in  South  America.  In  quick  succession  Balboa  crossed 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to  discover  the  Pacific  from  the 
other  side  of  the  continent;  Cortez  conquered  the  Aztec 
empire  in  Mexico;  and  Pizarro  took  possession  of  Peru. 
Spain's  discoveries  and  conquests  in  the  New  World 
proved  far  more  valuable  than  those  of  the  Portuguese 
on  the  other  side  of  the  globe,  and  furnished  much  of 
the  wealth  upon  which  the  great  empire  of  Charles  V 
and  Philip  II  was  built. 

The  English  enter  the  game. — At  the  same  time 
the  English  were  bestirring  themselves.  They  had  in 
view  the  old  goal  of  an  easy  access  to  the  islands  whence 
came  the  spices,  but  they  were  induced  by  another 
Genoese,  Cabot,  to  seek  it  in  a  northwesterly  direction. 
As  a  result,  the  English  interests  were  first  planted  in 
Newfoundland,  and  were  spread,  during  the  next  cen- 
tury, along  the  coast  of  North  America.  And  soon 
adventurous  EngUshmen,  part  traders,  part  pirates,  and 
part  slavers,  were  disputing  with  the  Spaniards  for  the 
control  of  the  West  Indies  and  the  northern  coasts  of 
South  America. 

In  a  hundred  years. — At  the  half-way  point  in  the 
fifteenth  century  we  have  seen  the  Pope  in  torment 
because  the  effort  to  hold  back  the  power  of  Islam  has 
failed,  and  Christianity  is  being  compressed  in  upon 
itself.  A  hundred  years  pass,  and  we  see  the  best  blood 
in  western  Europe  pressing  to  the  conquest  of  lands 
distant  by  thousands  of  miles  of  ocean.  What  a  cen- 
tury it  must  have  been! 


NEW  CHANNELS  109 

New  Roadways  for  the  Gospel 

In  all  this  story  of  discovery  we  need  to  remember 
that  these  navigators  were  good  members  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  Never  the  ship  sailed  into  the  unknown  but 
that  it  had  been  blessed  by  the  clergy,  and  carried  at 
its  masthead  the  banner  of  the  cross.  Never  the  new 
land  was  opened  to  exploration  and  colonization  but 
that  there  came  ashore  with  the  soldier  and  his  firelock 
the  priest  and  his  baptismal  water.  And  when  the  age 
of  discovery  came  to  an  end  we  see,  as  we  study  it 
from  this  distance,  that  there  had  been  opened  on 
every  sea  innumerable  roadways  down  which  the 
gospel  was  to  pass  to  the  evangelization  of  great  por- 
tions of  the  earth. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  Who  was  Ptolemy,  and  how  has  he  influenced 
history? 

2.  To  what  extent  was  Marco  Polo  a  forerunner  of 
the  explorers  of  the  fifteenth  century? 

3.  Why  did  the  fall  of  Constantinople  seem  a  catas- 
trophe?   Was  it? 

4.  Which  voyage  accomplished  most,  that  of  Colimibus 
or  that  of  Magellan? 

5.  Can  you  perceive  how  the  landing  of  the  Spanish 
in  South  and  Central  America,  and  of  the  English  in 
North  America,  affected  the  later  religious  history  of 
those  regions? 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  ROMAN  THEORY  OF  THE  CHURCH 
CHALLENGED 

See  what  a  stage  we  now  have  set  for  events!  The 
struggle  between  Pope  and  king  for  dominance  in 
affairs  of  state  has  been  decided  in  favor  of  the  kings, 
and  nationality  begins  to  be  a  ruling  force.  The  birth 
of  the  universities  and  the  rediscovery  of  ancient  Hter- 
atures  fling  open  the  doors  of  men's  minds,  and  they 
are  ready  to  embark  upon  all  sorts  of  mental  adven- 
tures. The  mariners  have  sailed  east  and  west,  north 
and  south,  on  the  search  for  the  elusive  spices,  and  men 
prove  ready  for  all  sorts  of  physical  adventures.  And 
now  we  are  to  find  them,  under  the  spell  of  this  same 
mood,  ready  to  launch  out  upon  all  sorts  of  spiritual 
quests.  For  we  have  arrived  at  the  time  of  the 
Reformation. 

The  Church  a  State 

To  understand  what  happened  in  this  period  we 
must  remember  what  sort  of  an  organization  the  church 
had  become  during  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  mediaeval  theory  of  the  church.— To  all  in- 
tents, the  church  stood  as  a  great  state  within  all  the 
other  states.  The  kings  had  been  able  to  repudiate  its 
claim  to  be  above  all  the  other  states,  but  none,  up  to 
this  time,  had  challenged  its  right  to  exist  coextensively 
with  France  and  Germany  and  Italy  and  the  rest. 

Treason  against  the  church. — The  central  idea,  on 
no 


THE  ROMAN  THEORY  CHALLENGED  in 

which  this  vast  organization  had  been  erected,  was 
the  necessity  for  a  unity  of  faith.  To  secure  this  it  was 
necessary,  so  it  was  held,  to  have  one  head,  one  author- 
itative body  of  doctrine,  and  one  recognized  body  and 
fount  of  laws.  The  kings  were  ready  to  support  this 
theory  with  their  temporal  power,  because  it  helped 
to  reduce  disorder  and  increase  discipline  among  the 
masses.  It  frequently  happened,  however,  that  on 
minor  matters  the  kings  and  Popes  disagreed. 

Treason  against  this  authoritative  doctrine  and  uni- 
j5.ed  organization  became  regarded  as  one  of  the  worst 
of  all  possible  crimes.  The  Inquisition  was  set  up  in 
order  that  the  first  signs  of  such  treason  might  be  de- 
tected and  exterminated,  and  the  record  of  the  church 
was  blotted  with  the  hideous  measures  sometimes  used 
in  punishing  alleged  heresy.  Furthermore,  to  make 
sure  that  bishops  in  distant  places  were  not  taking 
advantage  of  their  remoteness  to  weaken  the  authority 
of  the  supreme  pontiff,  the  Pope  employed  personal 
representatives,  or  legates,  who  traveled  about  from 
country  to  country,  exercising  absolute  power  wherever 
they  went. 

The  empire  of  Charles  V. — In  the  same  year  that 
Magellan  embarked  upon  his  great  voyage,  1519,  there 
came  to  the  throne  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  the 
grandson  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  Charles  V.  Already 
he  was  Duke  of  Brabant,  Margrave  of  Antwerp,  Count 
of  Holland,  Archduke  of  Austria,  Count  of  Tyrol,  King 
of  Spain  and  Naples,  and  of  the  Spanish  possessions  in 
America.  To  these  were  now  added  the  emperorship 
of  Germany  and  control  of  much  territory  in  northern 
Italy.  So  that  before  he  was  twenty  years  of  age, 
Charles  ruled  over  one  of  the  greatest  empires  of  mod- 
em times. 


112     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Charles  shared  very  little  the  new  movements  that 
were  changing  Europe.  He  was  a  devout  Catholic, 
and  he  determined  to  use  the  orthodox  faith,  as  Con- 
stantine  had  done,  to  cement  together  the  scattered 
units  of  his  empire.  Thus  he  became  the  Pope's  chief 
secular  support. 

But  the  great  mistake  of  Charles,  in  dealing  with 
his  empire,  was  his  decision  to  transfer  its  center  to 
Spain.  In  a  way,  that  seemed  the  wise  move,  for  it 
was  to  Spain  that  the  immense  wealth  of  the  New 
World  was  flowing.  But  this  served  to  increase  the 
suspicion  of  the  northern  princes,  and  made  them  the 
more  ready  to  support  any  movement  that  aimed  at 
any  authority  in  the  south.  Had  it  not  been  for  this 
spirit  of  semi-independence  on  the  part  of  the  German 
lords,  it  is  difl&cult  to  see  how  what  did  happen  could 
have  happened  at  that  time. 

Luther's  First  Challenge 

Northern  Europe  had  never  been  as  closely  knit  to 
the  papacy  as  the  south.  Early  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury all  Germany  was  in  a  mood  of  resentment  against 
Rome  that  offered  an  opportunity  to  any  revolt. 

The  part  played  by  indulgences. — German  princes 
and  people  found  most  exasperation  in  the  steadily 
increasing  demands  made  by  the  papal  court  upon  the 
wealth  of  Germany.  At  that  time  the  Pope,  inspired 
by  the  artistic  enthusiasm  of  the  age  (for  the  Pope, 
Leo  X,  with  whom  Luther  had  most  of  his  troubles, 
was  a  member  of  the  famous  Medici  family  who  gave 
Italy  so  many  of  its  finest  artistic  possessions),  desired 
to  complete  the  papal  cathedral,  Saint  Peter's  in  Rome, 
in  the  magnificent  style  in  which  we  know  it  to-day. 


THE  ROMAN  THEORY  CHALLENGED  113 

And  to  obtain  the  vast  sum  needed,  a  liberal  sale  of 
indulgences  was  fostered  throughout  Christendom. 

These  indulgences  were  an  outgrowth  of  Catholic 
theology.  It  was  held  that  most  men  could  not,  even 
by  confession  and  the  doing  of  penance,  wipe  out  the 
full  score  of  sins  for  which  they  must  be  punished  in 
this  life,  but  that  they  must,  in  an  after-state  called 
purgatory,  be  further  punished  and  thus  cleansed 
before  they  could  be  admitted  to  the  holy  presence 
of  God. 

But  the  Pope  was  the  all-powerful  representative  of 
God.  So  it  was  held  that  the  Pope  could  issue  a  pardon, 
or  indulgence,  that  would  reduce  the  punishment  a 
contrite  sinner  would  have  to  undergo  in  purgatory. 
The  worst  feature  of  the  system  was  its  use  to  raise 
revenue,  for  these  indulgences  came  to  be  granted 
upon  a  regular  scale  of  pay,  so  much  to  the  poor  man, 
and  so  much  more  to  the  rich. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Pope  began  to  appear  all  over  western 
Europe,  zealously  collecting  money  in  this  manner. 
In  their  enthusiasm  they  made  many  claims  for  the 
efficiency  of  the  indulgences  they  were  selling  that  no 
church  authority  would  have  upheld.  But  the  cred- 
ulous people  flocked  to  buy  them,  and  the  local  lords 
became  more  and  more  incensed  as  they  saw  the  stream 
of  money  thus  increased  that  was  flowing  southward 
over  the  Alps. 

The  appearance  of  Luther. — ^This  indulgence  selling 
was  to  bring  to  public  attention  an  Augustinian  monk, 
Martin  Luther,  who  had  been  rapidly  coming  to  the 
front  as  one  of  the  leaders  of  his  order  in  Germany. 
Born  shortly  before  Diaz  rounded  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,   the  son  of  peasants,  Luther,   after  a  brilliant 


114     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

university  career,  when  a  life  of  prominence  as  a  lawyer 
seemed  assured,  suddenly  renounced  the  world,  entered 
a  monastery,  and  became  a  begging  monk. 

As  a  member  of  the  Augustinians,  Luther  soon  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  the  head  of  the  order  in  Germany, 
and  because  of  his  mental  powers  was  rapidly  advanced. 
But  he  failed  to  find  the  spiritual  peace  he  sought  in 
the  life  of  the  church,  even  when  the  business  of  his 
order  took  him  to  Rome,  until  he  was  mastered  by  the 
great  words  of  Saint  Paul,  "The  just  shall  Hve  by  faith." 
Rejecting  any  hope  of  attaining  merit  by  his  own  deeds, 
or  the  possibihty  that  a  sinful  man  could  so  attain, 
Luther  threw  himself,  with  all  his  hopes  and  needs, 
alone,  without  help  of  church  or  priest  or  rite,  into  the 
hands  of  God,  and  rejoiced  to  find  an  inner  peace 
that  was  to  him  evidence  that  God  had  pardoned  and 
accepted  him. 

In  1508  Luther  was  made  a  professor  in  the  recently 
established  university  at  Wittenberg.  Four  years  later 
he  was  made  a  Doctor  of  Theology,  and  began  to  thrill 
his  students  with  lectures  on  the  writings  of  Saint  Paul 
and  the  Psalms  that  showed  the  influence  of  his  own 
spiritual  experience.  Religion  he  knew,  not  so  much 
as  the  playing  of  a  carefully  marked  out  part  in  a  vast 
churchly  organization,  but  as  an  immediate  contact 
between  the  individual  soul  and  God.  And  that  was 
a  return,  in  essence,  to  the  teaching  of  Saint  Paul. 

The  ninety-five  theses. — By  one  of  the  deals  all  too 
common  in  that  age,  the  Pope  gave  a  certain  German 
ecclesiastical  lord,  whom  he  had  appvointed  to  certain 
benefices  for  which  large  tribute  had  to  be  paid  to 
Rome,  the  right  to  half  the  proceeds  from  such  sale  of 
indulgences  as  might  be  made  in  his  domains.  The 
elector  of  Saxony,  in  which  was  Wittenberg,  refused  to 


THE  ROMAN  THEORY  CHALLENGED     115 

allow  this  money-draining  business  to  enter  his  terri- 
tory. But  as  one  of  the  most  successful  hawkers  of 
these  indulgences  approached  the  border,  Luther,  who 
saw  the  common  people  mulcting  themselves  to  buy, 
determined  to  thresh  out  the  whole  question  as  to  the 
right  or  wrong  of  the  traffic.  Accordingly,  he  posted 
on  the  door  of  the  castle  church  in  Wittenberg  a  thesis 
of  ninety-five  propositions,  dealing  with  various  phases 
of  the  matter,  and  invited  all  who  would  to  discuss 
these  with  him. 

To  Luther,  with  his  personal  conception  of  religion, 
the  theory  on  which  the  indulgences  rested  seemed 
wrong.  But  he  was  no  man  to  forge  blindly  ahead, 
and  his  invitation  to  discussion  was  a  sincere  one. 
No  one,  however,  appeared  to  dispute  his  propositions. 
Listead,  they  were  greeted  by  princes  and  people,  alike 
exasperated  by  the  extortions  of  the  clergy,  with  enthusi- 
asm. They  were  translated  from  the  Latin  in  which 
Luther  had  written  them  into  all  the  languages  of 
western  Europe,  and  within  a  month  the  young  pro- 
fessor found  himself  an  international  figure. 

Luther  Defies  the  Pope 

Luther  now  found  himself  launched  on  a  tide  that 
was  to  carry  him  to  strange  ports.  But  never  has 
history  known  a  man  with  more  complete  courage  for 
the  part  he  was  called  upon  to  play. 

First  efforts  to  suppress  Luther. — Naturally,  tne 
attack  upon  the  indulgences,  however  it  may  have 
been  received  by  the  laity,  did  not  arouse  enthusiasm 
among  the  indulgence-sellers.  Formal  complaint  was 
made  to  the  Pope  against  the  presumptuous  pro- 
fessor  and    the    cry    raised    that,    in    attacking    the 


ii6     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

indulgences,  their  author,  the  Pope,  was  attacked. 
Luther  was  ordered,  after  a  perfunctory  examination 
of  the  case,  to  retract;  refused,  and  appealed  to  a 
future  general  council  of  the  church  to  sustain  his 
position. 

Followers  came  to  him  from  both  clergy  and  laity. 
One  of  his  fellow  professors  at  Wittenberg  engaged  in 
a  debate  with  an  orthodox  champion,  and  Luther  was 
drawn  into  the  controversy.  The  supporter  of  the 
existing  order  skillfully  maneuvered  Luther  to  the  point 
where  he  admitted  that  he  believed  that  a  general 
council  of  the  church  could  err. 

By  this  admission  Luther  had,  in  the  view  of  the 
church,  proved  himself  a  heretic.  First,  he  had  rejected 
the  absolute  authority  of  the  Pope;  now  he  rejected  that 
of  the  general  councils.  What  room  was  there  for 
one  whose  teaching  ultimately  came  back  to  the  author- 
ity of  an  individual's  own  spiritual  experience,  tested 
only  by  what  that  individual  might  discover  in  the 
Bible?    A  papal  bull  of  condemnation  was  issued. 

And  Luther,  to  show  his  determination,  publicly 
burned  the  bull! 

The  diet  of  Worms. — Now  comes  Charles  V,  em- 
peror-elect of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  to  gather  his 
German  princes  in  an  imperial  diet  at  Worms  and 
settle  the  questions  of  this  portion  of  his  realms.  It 
is  a  high  moment  in  the  history  of  his  empire.  It  is 
also  a  high  moment  in  world  history,  for  Magellan's 
ship  is  just  beating  its  way  back  from  the  first  circum- 
navigation of  the  globe,  and  new  ideas  can  travel  fast 
and  far.  One  of  the  first  matters  with  which  Charles 
finds  it  necessary  to  deal  is  the  disciplining  of  a  certain 
university  professor,  Martin  Luther  by  name,  who 
has  been  writing  books  that  the  Pope  has  condemned 


THE  ROMAN  THEORY  CHALLENGED     117 

as  heretical  and  for  whom  the  papal  legate  seeks  pun- 
ishment. 

Probably  the  twenty-year-old  Emperor  knows  very 
little  about  the  case,  but  the  representative  of  the 
Pope  tells  him  that  he  has  been  unable  to  inflict  pun- 
ishment previously  because  this  professor  enjoys  the 
favor  of  the  Elector  of  Saxony  and  the  support  of  many 
other  nobles.  Charles  feels  that  he  must  proceed  care- 
fully in  dealing  with  a  man  with  such  backing,  and 
proposes  that  he  be  called  to  Worms  for  examination. 
The  papal  legate  protests.  The  Pope  has  already 
examined  and  judged.  It  remains  only  for  the  Emperor 
to  punish.  But  the  Emperor  cannot  afford  to  offend 
the  powerful  Elector,  and  Luther  is  given  a  safe-conduct 
that  brings  him  to  Worms. 

There  is  no  chance,  however,  for  him  to  argue  his 
position.    He  is  shown  a  pile  of  the  condemned  books. 

"Did  you  write  those?" 

"Yes,  and  more." 

"Will  you  retract  what  you  have  written?" 

Everything  hinges  on  the  answer.  Luther  asks  for 
a  day  in  which  to  consider,  and  is  granted  it.  The  next 
day  he  is  back,  again  facing  the  incarnation  of  the  power 
of  empire  and  church. 

"Will  you  retract?" 

"I  cannot.    Here  I  stand.    God  help  me,  Amen!" 

The  Emperor  has  no  choice.  To  the  excommunica- 
tion of  the  Pope  is  added  the  condemnation  of  the 
monarch.  Luther  from  that  day  is,  legally,  an  outlaw. 
But  his  friends  prove  powerful  enough  to  protect  him. 
He  is  hidden  away  for  ten  months  in  one  of  the  castles 
of  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  and  then  comes  out  to  lead 
in  the  movement  that  history  knows  as  the  Reformation, 
until  he  dies  in  1546. 


ii8     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

What  Luther  Accomplished 

We  cannot  tell,  in  detail,  the  way  in  which  the  Prot- 
estant movement  developed.  Certain  nobles,  deter- 
mined that  they  would  no  longer  see  Germany  ruled 
from  abroad,  gave  Luther  political  support;  many 
scholars,  of  whom  the  greatest  was  Philip  Melanchthon, 
acclaimed  this  as  a  return  to  the  simplicity  of  the  apos- 
tolic church  and  an  opportunity  for  a  reverent  but  free 
study  of  Christian  truth.  The  empire  of  Charles  V  was 
so  widely  scattered  that  the  monarch  was  under  the 
constant  necessity  of  shifting  from  one  part  to  another 
to  put  down  incipient  revolts.  Thus  he  was  never  able 
to  bring  all  his  forces  to  the  crushing  of  Luther  and  his 
supporters.  To  the  support  of  nobles  and  scholars  Lu- 
ther added  that  of  the  masses  when  he  translated  the 
Bible  into  idiomatic  German — a  version  that  remains 
standard  to  this  day — and  so  identified  himself  and  his 
Protestant  cause  with  popular  culture.  The  combina- 
tion of  political  strength,  scholarly  approval,  and  popu- 
lar enthusiasm  soon  made  the  Reformation  permanent. 

The  princes  choose  their  subjects'  faith. — 
It  was  typical  of  the  time  that,  when  an  adjustment 
was  at  last  reached,  about  ten  years  after  Luther  had 
died,  it  was  not  the  people  who  were  left  to  decide 
whether  they  should  be  Catholic  or  Protestant,  but 
their  rulers.  Europe  to-day  still  shows  division  based 
upon  the  choices  which,  for  varied  reasons,  the  princes 
made  at  that  time.  In  general,  it  can  be  said  that  all 
the  old  Roman  Empire,  save  Britain,  held  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  and  the  rest  of  western-  and  northern 
Europe  became  Protestant. 

Personal  religion. — The  great  achievement  of  Luther, 
from  a  religious  standpoint,  was  his  reassertion  of  the 


THE  ROMAN  THEORY  CHALLENGED  119 

rights  of  the  individual.  When  he  was  born  it  was 
the  welfare  of  the  church  that  was  paramount.  When 
he  died  there  was  open  to  men  a  way  of  worship  whereby 
they  might  assert  their  own  priesthood,  and  might 
seek  direct  contact  with  the  Divine.  Protestantism 
represents  the  protest,  echoed  by  increasing  numbers 
as  the  years  have  passed,  against  any  rite  or  any  organ- 
ization coming  between  an  individual  soul  and  its  God. 
On  the  other  hand,  Protestantism  declared  that  any 
soul  can  find  itself  brought  into  the  presence  and  favor 
of  God  at  any  time,  by  an  act  of  faith. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  Give  a  complete  outline  of  the  life  of  Luther. 

2.  Why  were  many  of  the  princes  of  Germany  favor- 
able to  Luther? 

3.  Tell  of  Luther's  connection  with  the  Peasants' 
Revolt.  What  were  the  results  of  his  actions  in  that 
connection  ? 

4.  Give  a  sketch  of  the  life  and  work  of  Melanchthon. 

5.  What  great  contribution  did  Luther  make  to  German 
literature? 

6.  How  many  differences  can  you  discover  between 
Catholic  and  Protestant  doctrine? 

7.  How  did  the  name  "Protestant"  originate?  Do  you 
consider  it  a  good  title  for  the  movement  led  by  Luther? 


CHAPTER  XIV 
CATHOLICISM  ENTERS  NEW  WORLDS 

We  must  not  make  the  mistake  of  thinking  that  the 
effect  of  the  Reformation  was  confined  to  the  new 
Protestant  churches,  or  to  the  regions  in  which  they 
were  in  the  ascendant.  In  fact,  the  movement  led  by 
Luther  served  to  bring  to  a  head  the  desire  for  reform 
that  had  been  growing  within  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  for  generations. 

We  know  that  thinking  men,  like  Erasmus  and  many 
before  him,  had  admitted  the  need  of  reform  within 
CathoHcism.  All  Europe  was  scandalized  when,  for 
almost  forty  years  about  a  century  before  the  time  of 
Luther,  there  were  rival  Popes,  each  cursing  the  other 
and  declaring  his  own  the  only  valid  title  to  the  office. 
Looseness  of  administration  and  living  became  common 
within  the  church. 

How  TO  Reform  a  Church 

The  question  in  the  minds  of  thoughtful  CathoUcs 
was  how  the  needed  reform  could  be  secured.  They 
did  not  wish  to  follow  Luther  into  a  new  church,  but 
how  could  they  make  their  own  worthy  of  respect? 
The  Protestant  Reformation  showed  them  that  they 
must  do  something,  and  immediately.  Three  general 
methods  of  procedure  were  tried. 

Rooting  out  heresy. — During  the  years  while  Spain 
had  been  gaining  power  as  a  unified  monarchy,  the 
church  there  had  been  coming  to  a  place  of  great  influ- 

120 


CATHOLICISM  ENTERS  NEW  WORLDS     121 

ence.  To  a  large  extent  leaders  of  the  Spanish  church 
ascribed  this  to  the  practice  of  the  Inquisition.  So  they 
now  urged  that  the  same  method  be  followed  wherever 
the  Catholic  Church  could  command  the  support  of 
the  civil  powers. 

We  view  the  Inquisition  with  such  horror  in  this  day 
that,  if  we  are  ever  to  understand  how  it  came  to  be 
used,  we  must  remember  the  sort  of  ideas  that  held  the 
minds  of  the  priests  who  promoted  it.  For  they  were 
men  who  honestly  beUeved  that  a  man's  eternal  salva- 
tion depended  upon  his  mental  acceptance  of  the  the- 
ories that  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  had  pronounced 
true.  If  a  man  differed  from  those  views  in  any  par- 
ticular they  held  that  he  was  doomed  to  eternal  tor- 
ment. And  so  they  came  to  think  themselves  justified 
in  taking  any  means  to  force  men  to  recant  opinions 
that  would  doom  them  to  a  torment  more  horrible  than 
any  possible  in  this  life. 

But,  however  sincere  the  men  who  started  the  In- 
quisition, it  soon  became  an  institution  so  unruly  that 
it  could  not  be  controlled.  Anonymous  testimony  was 
accepted;  the  accused  rarely  had  a  full  chance  for  de- 
fense. A  man  accused  of  heretical  beliefs  was  held 
guilty  until  he  proved  himself  innocent.  And  the  pun- 
ishments meted  out  were  horrible.  A  visitor  to  the 
torture  chambers  of  the  Inquisition  that  still  remain  in 
various  parts  of  Europe  finds  it  hard  to  believe  that 
this  monstrosity  existed  in  the  name  of  any  religion,  let 
alone  that  of  Jesus. 

Some  apologists  for  the  Inquisition  have  pointed  out 
that  it  was  not  the  church  that  executed  its  victims. 
Technically  this  is  true.  But  it  was  the  church  that 
condemned,  and  then  handed  the  condemned  over  to  a 
complacent  civil  authority,  knowing  full  well  that  tor- 


122     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

ture  and  death  would  result.  The  responsibility  for 
hundreds  of  deaths  lies  squarely  at  the  door  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  Church. 

This  method  of  reform,  which  was  supposed  to  root 
out  destructive  ideas,  was  used  largely  throughout 
the  Catholic  portions  of  the  empire  of  Charles  V  and 
his  son,  Philip  II.  It  was  successful  in  killing  the  Prot- 
estant stirrings  that  were  just  beginning  in  Italy  and 
Spain,  but  it  could  not  accomplish  much  in  countries 
such  as  Germany,  the  Netherlands,  England,  and 
Scotland.  And  Catholicism  came  to  see  that  stern 
repression  alone  would  never  bring  the  world  back  to 
what  it  thought  was  the  true  faith. 

The  adjustment  of  abuses. — A  second  method  took 
the  form  of  what  politicians  might  call  a  house-cleaning. 
Years  were  spent,  in  the  Council  of  Trent  and  elsewhere, 
reforming  the  inner  life  of  the  church.  From  this  time 
there  have  been  few  leaders  of  the  Roman  Cathohc 
Church  whose  characters  have  not  been  in  keeping 
with  the  offices  they  have  held.  The  open  forms  of 
bribery  that  had  accompanied  appointments  to  some 
positions  were  abolished.  To  match  the  effort  of  the 
Protestants  to  reach  the  common  people  with  versions 
of  the  Bible  in  the  vernacular,  there  were  printed  other 
vernacular  versions  that  were  approved  by  the  Pope. 
And  it  is  a  striking  fact  that  at  just  about  this  time 
the  Catholic  Church  was  able  to  point  to  believers  within 
its  ranks  as  saintly  as  any  it  has  ever  produced. 

A  missionary  church. — But  it  was  left  to  another 
method  to  prove  the  real  power  of  the  Catholic  counter- 
reformation.  It  is  said  that  the  great  soldier,  Marshal 
Foch,  has  laid  down,  as  a  military  maxim,  the  sentence, 
"The  best  defensive  is  an  offensive."  Catholicism  may 
have  felt  itself  put  on  the  defensive  by  the  challenge 


CATHOLICISM  ENTERS  NEW  WORLDS     123 

of  Luther  and  his  followers.  But  it  possessed  men  of 
keen  enough  insight  to  see  that  the  best  answer  to  this 
would  be  a  new  offensive,  and  soon  there  were  in  every 
known  land  missionaries  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
who  launched  the  greatest  campaign  that  church  had 
ever  undertaken.  In  that  outreaching  effort  Cathol- 
icism found  the  regenerating  virtue  that  has  preserved 
it  to  these  days. 

Loyola  and  His  Band 

The  story  of  this  Catholic  missionary  expansion  is 
largely  the  story  of  the  Society  of  Jesus. 

Ignatius  Loyola. — In  the  year  that  Luther  appeared 
in  the  Diet  of  Worms,  a  Spanish  cavalier,  Inigo  Lopez 
de  Recalde,  received  a  wound  in  a  battle  with  the  French 
that  sent  him  to  the  hospital,  where  he  spent  months 
in  a  slow  convalescence.  He  knew  that  he  could  never 
fight  again,  but  the  reading  of  the  lives  of  some  of  the 
saints  and  the  influence  of  his  own  ideals  of  chivalry 
determined  him  to  enlist  in  another  kind  of  warfare. 
He  would  become  a  knight  of  the  Virgin. 

Rapidly  he  acquired  the  knowledge  that  in  his  former 
life  had  been  neglected,  but  that  now,  as  a  soldier  of 
the  church,  he  knew  he  would  need.  In  the  year  that 
another  man  of  whom  we  will  hear,  John  Calvin,  left 
the  University  of  Paris,  Ignatius  Loyola,  to  give  him 
the  name  by  which  the  church  remembers  him,  entered 
the  same  institution.  Here  he  found  a  group  of  con- 
genial spirits  who  were  ready  to  unite  with  him  in 
a  vow  to  labor  for  the  conversion  of  men,  preferably 
in  Jerusalem,  or  wherever  else  the  church,  through  the 
Pope,  might  order. 

As  this  little  group  left  the  university  it  began  to  take 
the  form  which  has  made  it  such  a  power.     Loyola 


124     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

organized  it  as  a  military  company,  with  each  soldier 
required  to  give  instant  and  complete  obedience  to  his 
superiors,  and  the  commanding  general  taking  his 
orders  directly  from  the  Pope.  Recruits  were  carefully 
studied  in  order  that  their  individual  talents  might  be 
discovered,  and  then  they  were  set  at  tasks  for  which 
they  were  most  fitted.  But  the  wishes  of  individual 
members  were  always  to  be  subordinated  to  the  will 
of  the  whole. 

To  this  company  Loyola  gave  the  name  of  the  Society 
of  Jesus.  Much  opposition  was  manifested  to  it  at 
first  by  representatives  of  the  older  orders  within  the 
church,  but  the  Pope  saw  what  an  instrument  he  pos- 
sessed in  it  for  the  carrying  out  of  his  will,  and  ap- 
proved it.  From  the  day  of  the  Pope's  approval  the 
Jesuits  grew  with  amazing  swiftness. 

The  work  of  the  Jesuits. — Loyola  had  formed  his 
order  with  the  idea  of  working  in  the  Holy  Land.  The 
Pope,  however,  had  greater  troubles  on  his  hands  than 
the  Turks  presented  just  then,  and  sent  the  order  to 
conduct  a  counter-offensive  against  the  preachers  of  the 
Protestant  churches.  The  Protestants  were  divided 
among  themselves,  seeking  to  work  out  doctrinal  state- 
ments to  which  aU  would  agree,  and  the  Jesuits  quickly 
took  advantage  of  the  opening  to  win  back  for  the 
Roman  Church  much  territory  that  might  have  been 
expected  to  be  Protestant. 

The  Jesuits  confined  their  attention  to  preaching,  the 
practice  of  the  confessional,  and  teaching.  Of  the 
three,  the  latter  proved  the  most  important.  The  order 
soon  gathered  within  itself  the  keenest  minds  in  Cathol- 
icism, and  these  were  used  to  conduct  schools  of  such 
a  high  grade  that  pupUs  from  the  best  families  of  Europe, 
some  of  them  Protestant,  crowded  to  be  taught.    There 


CATHOLICISM  ENTERS  NEW  WORLDS     125 

was  an  avowed  attempt  to  work  with  the  upper  grades 
of  society.  The  result  was  inevitable.  What  the  ter- 
rors of  the  Inquisition  had  not  been  able  to  do  the 
training  of  the  Jesuits  in  many  cases  accomplished. 

Roman  Catholic  missions. — But  there  was  in  the 
Society  of  Jesus  that  which,  from  the  beginning,  made 
it  not  content  to  confine  its  labors  to  Europe.  If  it 
was  a  military  company,  it  proved  also  an  expeditionary 
force.  As  we  have  already  seen  (see  Chapter  XI)  the 
men  who  were  discovering  new  continents  and  new 
roads  to  old  lands  at  this  time  were  all  good  churchmen. 
Almost  from  the  beginning  of  the  voyages  of  discovery 
the  missionary  priest  was  an  expected  part  of  every  crew. 

The  older  Catholic  orders,  notably  the  Franciscans  and 
Dominicans,  had  a  great  part  in  this  missionary  effort, 
but  it  was  the  zeal  of  the  Jesuits  that  suppHed  the 
driving  power  for  the  whole  campaign.  Before  the  end 
of  the  seventeenth  century  Catholic  missions  were 
firmly  established  in  South,  Central,  and  large  parts 
of  North  America;  India;  Japan;  China,  and  the  islands 
of  the  Pacific. 

The  very  eagerness  of  these  Catholic  orders  often 
proved  their  undoing.  Little  love  was  lost  between 
them,  and  they  became  involved  in  intrigues  against 
one  another  that  roused  the  fear  of  the  rulers  of  the 
lands  where  they  were  working,  leading  sometimes  to 
repression.  Finally  such  tangles  became  so  frequent 
that  the  Pope  instituted  a  Congregation  for  the  Prop- 
agation of  the  Faith,  which,  to  this  day,  supervises  the 
missionary  work  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  all 
the  earth. 

\  Great  Catholic  Missionary 

Among  the  student  friends  of  Loyola  who  formed 


126     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

the  Society  of  Jesus  was  one,  Francis  Xavier,  destined 
to  be  known  as  the  greatest  of  aU  Cathohc  missionaries. 

Xavier  in  India. — The  early  voyages  of  the  Portu- 
guese had  secured  for  them  a  colony  at  Goa,  in  India. 
In  1540  the  Jesuit  general,  at  the  request  of  the  king  of 
Portugal,  commissioned  Xavier  to  proceed  there  for 
missionary  work.  It  took  him  a  year  to  reach  his  post. 
His  principal  work  was  with  the  pearl-fishers,  low- 
caste  natives  who  had  accepted  baptism  in  order  to  be 
protected  from  Mohammedan  pirates.  Xavier  endeav- 
ored to  give  these  pseudo-converts  some  idea  of  what 
it  meant  to  be  real  Christians,  but  with  results  that 
he  himself  saw  were  far  from  ideal. 

In  Japan  and  at  the  gates  of  China. — Xavier's  was 
a  restless  spirit.  He  never  remained  long  enough  in  one 
place  to  master  an  Oriental  language.  In  a  few  years 
he  had  worked  his  way  to  Malacca,  and  there  he  met 
a  runaway  Japanese  criminal,  whom  he  converted, 
and  whose  report  of  Japan  determined  him  to  press 
on  to  that  island.  For  about  two  years  and  a  half 
Xavier  hved  in  Japan,  trudging  barefoot  through  its 
scenes  of  beauty,  and  laying  the  foundations  for  that 
Cathohc  work  that  grew  to  such  remarkable  propor- 
tions, and  was  wiped  out  with  such  bloodshed  in  the 
first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  Japan  sealed 
itself  away  from  the  world  for  two  hundred  years. 
From  Japan  the  great  Jesuit  attempted  to  enter  China, 
but  while  still  waiting  for  a  propitious  opportunity  on 
a  small  island  off  the  southern  coast,  he  died.  It  has 
been  said  that  his  last  words,  as  he  viewed  that  rocky 
coast  from  which  he  had  been  turned  back,  were:  "O 
rock,  rock,  wilt  thou  never  break?" 

Xavier's  weakness  and  strength. — Xavier  proved 
but  the  first  of  a  great  company  of  Jesuit  missionaries, 


CATHOLICISM  ENTERS  NEW  WORLDS     127 

most  of  whom  followed  in  the  paths  he  had  marked 
out.  The  weaknesses  of  such  work  as  his  have  been 
frequently  pointed  out.  In  a  word,  the  CathoHc  mis- 
sions have  suffered  from  superficiaHty.  There  is  all 
too  often  little  change  in  the  lives  of  those  who  are 
counted  as  converts. 

This  fault  rises  inevitably  out  of  the  acceptance  of 
baptism  as  a  saving  rite.  Not  only  Xavier,  but  to  this 
day  earnest  Catholic  missionaries  in  the  Orient  will 
baptize  children,  sometimes  without  the  knowledge 
of  the  parents,  believing  that  the  act  insures  the  ultimate 
presence  of  the  chUd  in  heaven. 

Yet  the  earnestness  of  such  a  man  as  Xavier  is  not 
to  be  questioned,  and  the  heroism  that  he  displayed 
in  penetrating  regions  so  hostile  and  inaccessible  was 
of  the  highest  order.  His  spirit  with  his  converts  was 
gentle,  and  he  remains  one  of  those  Christians  to  whom 
all,  of  whatever  communion,  are  glad  to  accord  the 
title  "saint."  Reading  one  of  his  letters,  one  seems 
to  be  listening  to  just  such  an  appeal  as  the  Student 
Volunteer  Movement  is  making  in  these  days: 

Would  to  God  that  these  men  who  labor  so  much  in 
gaining  knowledge  would  give  as  much  thought  to  the 
account  they  must  one  day  give  to  God  of  the  use  they 
have  made  of  their  learning  and  of  the  talents  intrusted 
to  them!  .  .  .  They  would  exclaim  from  the  bottom  of 
their  hearts,  "Lord,  here  am  I;  send  me  whithersoever 
it  shall  please  thee,  even  to  India !"  .  .  .  I  declare  to  God 
that  I  had  almost  made  up  my  mind,  since  I  coiild  not 
return  to  Europe  myself,  to  write  to  the  University  of 
Paris  ...  to  show  them  how  many  thousands  of  infidels 
might  be  made  Christians  without  trouble,  if  we  had 
only  men  here  who  would  seek  not  their  own  advantage, 
but  the  things  of  Jesus  Christ.     And,  therefore,  dearest 


128     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

brothers,  "pray  ye  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  that  he  send 
forth  laborers  into  his  harvest." 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  In  what  European  countries  was  the  Catholic 
Church  able  to  hold  its  position?  By  what  methods 
did  it  do  this? 

2.  What  arguments  might  be  made  in  justification  of 
such  an  institution  as  the  Inquisition? 

3.  Why  did  the  Society  of  Jesus  as  organized  make  a 
special  appeal  to  that  age? 

4.  What  can  you  discover  about  other  Catholic  mis- 
sionaries of  this  period,  apart  from  Xavier? 

5.  How  did  the  territory  gained  for  the  Catholic  Church 
by  the  missionary  enterprises  of  the  counter-reformation 
compare  with  that  lost  by  the  Reformation? 

6.  What  methods  used  by  the  Jesuits  do  you  consider 
of  especial  value  in  Christian  work,  and  why? 


CHAPTER  XV 
WHO  WAS  TO  SPREAD  CHRISTIANITY? 

We  have  practically  reached  the  half-way  point  in 
our  study.  We  have  been  tracing  sixteen  centuries  of 
development  in  the  life  of  the  Christian  Church.  We 
have  seen  it  grow  from  a  small  group  within  the  Jewish 
community  to  the  mightiest  organization  in  the  world. 
And  now  that  we  have  considered  the  Protestant 
Reformation  and  the  missionary  activities  of  the  Catholic 
counter-reformation  we  are  ready  to  pause  and  sum 
up  what  we  have  studied. 

This  we  can  do  most  successfully  by  facing  the  ques- 
tion that  forms  the  title  of  this  chapter.  We  are  now 
at  the  opening  of  the  period  of  Christianity's  greatest 
expansion.  Sixteen  centuries  of  preparation  are  fin- 
ished. Who  is  it  that  Christianity  will  now  rely  upon 
to  spread  its  message? 

A  Broadening  World 

How  the  world  had  grown  since  Jesus  had  spoken 
those  parting  words  to  his  followers!  "Go  ye  there- 
fore, and  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations,"  he  had 
said.  It  had  seemed  an  impossible  commission,  even 
in  that  day. 

One  world  evangelized. — Yet  those  early  Christians 
threw  themselves  into  their  task  with  such  devotion 
that,  within  two  centuries,  they  were  able  to  claim  that 
their  world  had  been  evangelized.  Peter  went  to  Rome; 
Paul  beyond  Rome  to  Spain,  and  perhaps  even  to 
Britain;  Thomas,  if  tradition  is  to  be  accepted,  even 

129 


I30     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

to  India.  And  Origen,  the  great  Christian  teacher 
who  died  in  the  middle  of  the  third  century,  could 
write:  "In  a  few  years  and  with  no  great  store  of  teachers, 
in  spite  of  the  attacks  that  have  cost  us  life  and  prop- 
erty, the  preaching  of  the  word  has  found  its  way  into 
every  part  of  the  world." 

Another  world  discovered. — But  Christians  soon 
discovered  that  there  were  nations  in  a  world  beyond 
the  borders  of  that  they  had  known  in  the  days  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  So  we  have  seen  how  Christian  preach- 
ers reached  the  Goths,  the  Franks,  the  Irish,  the  Ger- 
mans, the  Scandinavians.  In  another  part  of  Europe 
we  have  seen  them  bringing  the  Bulgarians  and  then 
the  Russians  to  the  worship  of  Christ.  They  have 
penetrated  into  Armenia,  Abyssinia,  and  other  places 
that  had  been  on  the  outer  rim  of  the  Roman  world. 
There  are  even  Nestorian  missionaries  who  penetrate 
to  India  and  China,  but  their  work  has  not  the  sup- 
port necessary  for  permanence. 

The  world  we  know  to-day. — Then  follow  long 
years  when  there  is  little  missionary  enterprise.  The 
church  is  consoHdating  its  place  as  a  ruler  of  the  affairs 
of  men.  It  becomes  too  busy  with  questions  of  poHtics 
to  pay  much  attention  to  peoples  in  regions  beyond  its 
own  territories.  In  the  thirteenth  century  the  great 
Kublai  Khan  sits  on  the  throne  of  China.  He  hears 
enough  of  Christianity  to  send  a  request  to  the  Pope 
that  at  least  a  hundred  qualified  missionaries  be  sent 
to  work  in  his  dominions.  But  the  papal  court  is  so 
engrossed  in  its  own  petty  intrigues  that  the  best  it 
can  do  is  to  send  off  two  timid  monks,  and  this  price- 
less opportunity  is  allowed  to  pass. 

Then  the  ships  of  the  explorers  begin  to  come  saiUng 
home.     China,  Japan,   the  Philippines,  India,  even  a 


WHO  WAS  TO  SPREAD  CHRISTIANITY?    131 

New  World,  become,  not  fabled  lands  for  the  dwelling 
of  a  Prester  John,  but  real  places,  inhabited  by  real 
men,  and  filled  with  real  wealth.  And  immediately 
the  rush  toward  this  New  World — the  same  world  we 
know  to-day — begins.  And  with  the  explorers  go  the 
missionaries,  conscious  of  the  immense  broadening 
that  has  come  in  the  bounds  of  "the  world"  to  which 
they  have  been  bidden  "go." 

A  Broadening  Christian  Leadership 

It  is  a  heartening  thing  to  see  how,  with  this  broaden- 
ing of  the  world,  there  had  come  a  broadening  of  the 
church's  conception  of  what  makes  a  Christian  saint. 
Let  us  recall  the  different  ideals  that  had  been  held 
before  men  as  the  best  type  of  Christian  life  and  leader- 
ship. 

The  apostolic  ideal.— Jesus  called  upon  his  immedi- 
ate followers  to  go  out  spreading  the  good  news  of  his 
kingdom  without  encumbering  themselves  with  any 
material  things  that  might  tend  to  tie  them  to  any  one 
place.  They  were  to  take  neither  scrip  nor  staff,  and  they 
were  to  go,  and  go,  and  go.  The  best  disciple  would  be 
the  one  who  gave  himself  most  completely  to  the  dis- 
semination of  the  gospel,  and  who  separated  himself 
most  completely  from  other  affairs  of  life.  We  can  see 
how  the  apostolic  group  took  this  ideal  to  heart  by  the 
legends  that  surround  their  deaths.  Only  a  few  of 
them  are  reputed  to  have  died  in  Palestine.  The  others 
were  scattered  even  beyond  the  Roman  world. 

The  earliest  ideals  of  the  church. — After  the  period 
of  the  apostles,  when  the  church  first  began  to 
become  a  powerful  organization,  it  found  itself  in  the 
midst  of  the  licentiousness  that  marked  the  life  of 
the   decadent    Roman    Empire.      It   is  not  surprising, 


132     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

then,  that  it  came  to  hold  almost  all  social  life  as  evil, 
and  that,  to  attain  Christian  perfection,  men  were 
taught  that  they  must  withdraw  themselves  utterly 
from  contact  with  the  world. 

The  example  of  that  type  of  Christian  leader  most 
often  remembered  was  Saint  Anthony,  who  was  born 
about  the  middle  of  the  third  century.  He  Hved  in 
solitude,  as  a  hermit.  He  believed  himself  tormented 
by  demons,  and  temptation  came  to  him  as  it  naturally 
would  to  one  living  such  an  unnatural  sort  of  life.  He 
spent  his  days  in  the  strictest  self-denial,  subjecting 
his  body  to  most  rigorous  discipline.  And  so  power- 
fully did  his  example  appeal  to  his  fellow  Christians 
that  soon  the  deserts  and  sohtary  places  were  full  of 
the  cells  of  hermits,  living  alone  or  in  small  colonies. 

The  monastic  ideal  in  Europe. — This  form  of  sol- 
itary self-torture  went  to  most  extreme  lengths  in  the 
East.  There  was,  in  the  nature  of  the  peoples  of  Europe, 
something  that  saved  them  from  such  excesses  as, 
for  example,  Simeon  the  Styhte  practiced  when  he  Hved 
for  thirty  years  on  top  of  a  pillar.  And  within  a  couple 
of  hundred  years  there  arose  a  beHef  in  the  West  that 
the  highest  type  of  Christian  would  save  himself  from 
much  needless  temptation  by  spending  the  hours  while 
he  was  withdrawn  from  the  world  in  useful  labor.  Out 
of  this  advance  in  insight  arose  the  monasteries. 

Saint  Benedict  remains  the  finest  illustration  of  the 
monastic  ideal  of  Christian  leadership.  Although  he 
still  believed  with  all  his  heart  that  the  world  was 
essentially  evil  and  that  the  only  way  to  possess  an 
unsullied  Christian  character  was  to  flee  from  it,  Saint 
Benedict  went  from  his  cave  in  the  mountains  east  of 
Rome  to  found  the  first  monastery  of  the  order  that 
bears  his  name. 


WHO  WAS  TO  SPREAD  CHRISTIANITY?    133 

In  this  monastery  Saint  Benedict  ordered  that  as 
much  time  be  given  to  work  as  to  worship.  "Idleness 
is  the  enemy  of  the  soul,"  he  declared.  This  work  was 
partly  in  the  fields  and  partly  in  the  hbrary.  And  it 
is  to  the  monasteries  that  we  owe  the  preservation  of 
such  learning  as  lived  through  Europe's  dark  ages. 
It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  best  men  of  the 
Middle  Ages  were  to  be  found  within  the  monasteries. 

The  preaching  orders.- — The  monastic  ideal  sufficed 
to  express  the  conception  of  Christian  leadership  until 
at  least  the  thirteenth  century.  Then  it  began  to  dawn 
upon  men  that  all  the  spiritual  problems  of  the  world 
would  not  be  solved  by  gathering  the  best  Christians  in 
groups  largely  out  of  touch  with  the  world.  In  some 
parts  of  Europe  teaching  became  rife  that  the  church 
declared  heretical,  and  out  of  the  desire  to  counteract 
this  teaching  arose  the  great  preaching  orders  that 
were,  for  centuries,  to  provide  the  leadership  of  the 
church. 

The  best  illustration  of  this  type  of  Christian  leader- 
ship is  that  given  us  by  Saint  Dominic.  A  child  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  this  intense  Spaniard,  horrified  by  some 
of  the  heretical  preaching  which  he  touched  in  parts 
of  Spain  and  France,  determined  to  model  his  life  on 
that  of  Saint  Paul  and  win  these  mistaken  ones  by  a 
superior  purity  of  life  combined  with  a  continuous 
crusade  of  preaching. 

Here  was  a  type  of  Christian  effort  that  appealed  to 
men  who  had  begun  to  recoil  from  the  aloofness  and 
abuses  of  monastic  life.  Although  Dominic  lived  but 
five  years  after  his  order  had  been  recognized,  he  saw 
it  gather  to  its  ranks  men  of  the  highest  grade  from  all 
over  Europe.  Albertus  Magnus,  Thomas  Aquinas, 
Savonarola,  and  hundreds  of  other  great  men  of  that 


134     THE  SPREAD.  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

period  were  Dominicans.  A  recent  historian  thus  sums 
up  the  contribution  that  Dominic's  order  made  to  the 
broadening  of  the  conception  of  Christian  leadership: 
"Its  ideal  was  not  contemplation  apart  from  the  world, 
but  access  to  men  in  their  needs.  "^ 

The  missionary. — There  was  one  more  step  that  was 
logically  to  come  in  this  development.  The  preaching 
orders  had  brought  Christians  to  realize  that  the  best 
type  of  faith  was  that  which  spent  itself  in  carrying 
its  message  to  others.  Now  it  was  time  for  men  to  see 
that  these  others  included  not  only  the  inhabitants 
of  Europe,  but  those  who  lived  in  the  New  World,  in 
Africa,  in  the  Orient,  and  in  the  isles  of  the  sea.  So 
there  appeared  that  leader  whom  we  still  know,  the 
missionary. 

We  have  spoken  of  Saint  Francis  Xavier  as  a  typical 
example  of  this  sort  of  Christian  leader.  We  must 
remember  that,  with  him,  there  went  to  the  remote 
parts  of  the  earth  not  only  his  brothers  in  the  Jesuit 
order  but  Franciscans  and  Dominicans  as  well.  And, 
after  a  long  period  of  readjustment  and  consolidation 
had  passed,  we  will  see  Protestants  engaging  in  the 
same  crusade.  The  Christian  leader  has  become  once 
more,  as  he  was  in  the  day  of  the  apostles,  one  who 
seeks  earth's  farthest  shore  with  the  good  news  of  Jesus. 

The  administrator. — Along  with  this  development, 
there  comes  a  parallel  growth  that,  in  another  way,  is 
to  prove  equally  important  for  the  final  spread  of  Chris- 
tianity. This  is  the  rise  of  the  administrator,  that 
may  be  traced  in  the  history  of  the  Popes. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  over  this  long  story  again, 
nor  even  to  suggest  individual  examples.    But,  by  the 


1  Williston  Walker,  A  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons, 
publishers,  p.  256. 


WHO  WAS  TO  SPREAD  CHRISTIANITY?    135 

time  that  Saint  Francis  Xavier  and  his  companions 
are  launching  their  missionary  campaigns,  we  find  that 
there  has  come,  at  the  home  base  from  which  they 
set  forth,  a  leader  who  is  to  supervise  their  efforts  and 
provide  their  support.  And  increasingly  this  leader 
is  to  have  his  interests  restricted  until  he  is  giving 
practically  his  full  attention  to  the  direction  of  the 
religious  enterprise. 

Ready  for  the  Great  Advance 

We  have  come,  then,  to  the  perception  of  our  modern 
world.  We  are  facing  the  years  of  Christianity's  great- 
est advance.  The  command,  "Go!"  now  points  us 
toward  continents  that  its  first  hearers  never  knew 
existed.  And  we  ask,  Who  was  to  spread  Christianity 
through  this  tremendous  area? 

In  our  review  of  the  development  of  these  sixteen 
centuries  we  have  tried  to  suggest  the  answer.  It  was 
not  to  be  the  hermit;  not  the  monastic;  not  even 
the  mendicant  preacher.  But,  whether  Protestant  or 
Catholic,  it  was  to  he  the  missionary,  commissioned  and 
supported  by  the  administrator.  The  spread  of  Chris- 
tianity was  to  follow  from  the  carrying  through  of  a 
carefully  organized,  world-embracing  campaign. 

This  was,  in  essence,  a  return  to  the  apostolic  ideal. 
For  the  missionaries  were  those  who  would  go  any- 
where and  everywhere,  at  whatever  risk,  to  spread  the 
gospel;  and  the  administrators  were  those  who,  by  a 
careful  direction  of  the  enterprise,  would  make  it  pos- 
sible for  them  to  do  so  without  being  largely  concerned 
with  securing  financial  support.  It  is  this  combination 
of  the  missionary  plus  the  administrator  that  makes 
possible  the  great  Christian  advance  on  every  conti- 
nent to-day. 


136     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  Were  Christians  of  the  third  century  justified  in 
believing  that  they  had  fulfilled  the  command  to  go 
into  all  the  world? 

2.  Why  did  the  hermit  ideal  of  Christianity  arise? 
What  other  illustrations  of  this  type  of  Christian  can 
you  recall? 

3.  What  were  the  great  contributions  of  monasticism 
to  Christianity?     What  its  shortcomings? 

4.  Give  more  complete  accounts  of  the  lives  of  Saint 
Dominic  and  Saint  Francis  of  Assisi. 

5.  How  did  the  Jesuits  differ  from  the  Dominicans 
and  Franciscans? 

6.  Why  is  the  administrator  needed  in  the  modem 
missionary  enterprise? 


CHAPTER  XVI 
GENEVA— A  CITY  FOR  GOD 

It  is  the  aim  of  the  followers  of  Jesus  not  only  to 
spread  his  teachings  throughout  the  extent  of  the  world, 
but  throughout  the  life  of  the  world  as  well.  One  form 
of  social  organization  is  the  city,  and  Christians  look 
toward  the  day  when  the  vision  of  Saint  Augustine  of 
a  "City  of  God"  shall  be  fulfilled  in  the  cities  of  earth. 

This  is  an  ideal  toward  which  men  slowly  advance. 
How  many  of  them  know  that  the  same  ideal  took 
possession  of  the  imaginations  of  some  as  long  ago  as 
at  the  birth  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,  and  that, 
in  the  Swiss  city  of  Geneva,  there  was  carried  through 
an  experiment  in  Christian  city  government  that  has 
left  its  mark  on  history? 

The  City  of  Geneva 

Switzerland  is  known  the  world  over  as  a  land  of 
freedom.  It  has  been  a  freedom  hard  won,  and  only 
maintained  by  constant  vigilance.  But  since  1499 
this  group  of  German,  French,  and  Italian  "cantons" 
has  been  independent. 

Protestantism  enters  Switzerland. — At  about  the 
same  time  that  Luther  was  stirring  Germany  a  priest 
from  the  monastery  of  Einsiedeln,  near  the  Lake  of 
Zurich,  began  to  preach  views  similar  to  those  held  by 
the  German  reformer,  although  he  had  not  even  heard 
of  the  Saxon.  When,  in  the  year  Luther  was  sum- 
moned before  the  Diet  of  Worms,  this  priest  was  made 
the  preacher  in  the  cathedral  at  Zurich,  he  seized  the 

U7 


138     THE   SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

opportunity  to  attack  the  abuses  of  Catholicism  remorse- 
lessly, and  soon  the  whole  country  was  stirred. 

Zwingli,  this  Swiss  reformer,  must  ever  be  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  influential  and  attractive  of  the  men 
who  led  the  sixteenth-century  revolt  from  Rome.  He 
is  regarded  as  the  father  of  the  Reformed  churches  of 
to-day,  and  might  have  impressed  the  course  of  the 
church  even  more  powerfully  than  he  did  had  not  his 
career  been  cut  short  when  he  was  killed  while  acting 
as  chaplain  to  Protestant  troops  fighting  against  Catholic. 
His  active  career  covered  only  about  a  dozen  years. 

At  his  death  Zwingli  left  Switzerland  torn  between 
Catholic  and  Protestant.  The  older  sections  about  the 
Lake  of  Lucerne  stood  for  the  old  church.  The  center 
of  Protestant  influence  came  to  be  found  in  the  part 
of  the  country  nearer  to  France.  And  the  breach  re- 
mains to  this  day. 

Geneva,  a  trade  center. — There  has  been  a  tendency 
on  the  part  of  some,  in  telling  what  took  place  in  Geneva, 
to  depict  that  city  as  a  sinkhole  of  iniquity.  Prob- 
ably it  did  not  differ  greatly  from  other  commercial 
centers  of  its  time.  The  city  lay  just  over  the  border 
from  France  and  Italy,  and  astride  the  overland  trade 
route  between  the  two.  For  years  it  had  struggled 
fiercely  to  maintain  its  freedom,  especially  from  the 
powerful  Duke  of  Savoy,  whose  lands,  located  in  the 
north  of  Italy,  extended  almost  up  to  its  gates. 

In  1530,  by  an  alUance  with  the  Protestant  city  of 
Bern  and  the  Catholic  city  of  Freiburg,  Geneva  threw 
off  the  power  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  exerted  through 
the  Catholic  bishop.  Bern  then  tried  to  win  Geneva 
to  the  Protestant  cause,  and  a  French  reformer,  William 
Farel,  led  in  the  attempt.  Relations  were  broken 
with  Catholic  Freiburg,  and  then  the  Savoyard  bishop 


GENEVA— A  CITY  FOR  GOD  139 

precipitated  matters  by  attacking.  The  citizens,  in 
their  anger,  swept  out  the  last  vestiges  of  Catholic 
worship,  and  repulsed  the  troops  from  Savoy.  Bern 
then  acknowledged  the  independence  of  Geneva,  and 
Farel,  the  Protestant  leader,  found  himself  facing  the 
task  of  drawing  up  a  plan  whereby  the  newly  liberated 
city  should  be  governed.  He  felt  himself  unequal  to 
the  task,  and  called  to  his  aid  a  young  Frenchman  who, 
by  one  of  those  circumstances  that  make  up  the  romance 
of  history,  happened  to  stop  in  his  house  one  night 
while  travehng  from  Italy  to  Germany. 

John  Calvin 

On  the  night  that  John  Calvin  stopped  to  pay  his 
respects  to  Farel  while  passing  through  Geneva,  he  was 
but  twenty-seven  years  of  age.  Yet  he  was  already 
one  of  the  most  widely  known  Protestant  leaders  of 
Europe. 

The  making  of  a  reformer. — Calvin  was  born  in  a 
family  whose  close  connections  with  nobility  and  church 
made  life  very  comfortable  for  him.  By  the  time  he 
was  twelve  years  old,  in  accord  with  those  abuses  that 
were  so  accepted  a  part  of  the  religious  life  of  his  day, 
he  had  been  endowed  with  the  incomes  of  enough  posts 
in  the  church  to  insure  his  freedom  from  want.  He 
graduated  from  the  University  of  Paris,  having  majored 
in  philosophy,  when  he  was  nineteen.  Two  years  later, 
after  studying  at  the  universities  of  Orleans  and  Bourges, 
he  had  graduated  in  law,  making  so  brilUant  a  record 
that,  before  obtaining  his  degree,  he  was  invited  to 
lecture  to  his  fellow  students. 

The  spirit  of  the  times,  however,  proved  too  strong 
a  lure,  and  when  the  death  of  his  father  left  him  a  free 
agent,  young  Calvin  turned  from  the  law  to  the  study 


I40     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

of  Greek  and  Hebrew  in  the  newly  established  College 
de  France  in  Paris.  The  mark  of  this  period  is  shown 
in  Calvin's  first  book,  a  scholarly  study  of  one  of  Seneca's 
treatises.  If  there  was  discussion  of  the  questions 
raised  by  Luther  in  the  circle  in  which  the  young  scholar 
moved  (and  there  was),  at  least  he  then  considered 
questions  of  culture  of  more  importance. 

The  leader  of  French  Protestantism. — Take  now 
this  background:  a  brilliant  young  man,  with  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  church,  and  as  good  a  training  in 
philosophy,  law,  and  the  so-called  humanities  as  the 
time  could  give.  Introduce  a  single  element  more: 
the  "sudden  conversion"  that  Calvin  testifies  he  expe- 
rienced at  the  age  of  twenty-four.  The  result  is  the 
man  who  is  to  lead  French  Protestantism,  and  influence 
that  of  all  other  lands  with  his  teaching. 

It  was  perilous  business  to  be  a  reformer  in  Europe, 
and  for  a  long  time  young  Calvin  was  shifting  about 
from  country  to  country,  seeking  a  place  where  he  might 
study  and  write  in  peace.  In  the  midst  of  this  exile, 
to  defend  his  fellow  French  Protestants  from  the  charges 
leveled  against  them  by  the  French  king,  he  wrote  the 
first  form  of  his  system  of  Christian  doctrine.  It  was 
the  clearest  exposition  of  Protestant  thought  that  had 
appeared,  and  made  its  author  famous  overnight.  It 
rejected  the  authority  of  church  and  Pope,  accepted 
the  authority  of  the  Bible,  and  based  all  righteousness 
upon  the  will  of  God.  This  will  of  God  was  represented 
as  all-powerful.  If  men  were  saved,  it  was  because 
God  willed  it,  not  because  of  their  own  acts  or  will. 
If  they  were  lost,  it  was  for  the  same  reason.  So  Calvin 
sponsored  a  hard-and-fast  doctrine  of  human  predestina- 
tion that  has  remained  a  subject  for  debate  and  division 
within  Protestantism  to  this  day. 


GENEVA— A  CITY  FOR  GOD  141 

Calvin  in  Geneva 

It  was  while  hastening  from  one  refuge  in  Italy  to 
another  in  Germany  that  Calvin  stopped  overnight  in 
Geneva.  "Stay  to  build  here  a  city  for  God,"  pleaded 
Farel.  Active  service  of  that  sort  held  no  appeal  to  the 
frail  scholar.  "I  must  go  on  in  the  morning,"  he  in- 
sisted. "Put  forward  your  studies  as  a  pretext  if  you 
will,"  thundered  the  passionate  Farel,  "but  if  you 
refuse  this  work,  the  curse  of  God  will  rest  upon  you." 
Calvin  was  terror-stricken  and  remained. 

Exiled  and  recalled. — It  was  no  easy  task  to  which 
Farel  and  Calvin  thus  committed  themselves.  The 
zealous  Farel  had  already  set  laws  governing  the  be- 
havior of  individuals  that  irked  the  pleasure-loving 
citizens  of  Geneva.  At  Calvin's  advice,  these  laws 
were  made  even  more  strict.  Plain  dress  was  required, 
and  obnoxious  sports — which  included  practically  all — 
forbidden.  Soon  the  people  were  in  rebellion.  When 
Calvin  and  Farel  presented  one  creed,  another  was 
adopted.  When  they  brought  forward  methods  by 
which  such  as  they  deemed  unworthy  should  be  de- 
barred from  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  Council  of  Two 
Hundred  voted  that  the  sacrament  should  be  denied 
none.  And  when  they  refused  compliance,  they  were 
banished. 

Calvin  found  in  this  banishment,  which  he  spent  as 
pastor  of  a  church  in  Strassburg,  the  happiest  period 
of  his  life.  But  if  Calvin  enjoyed  this  period,  Geneva 
did  not.  Finally,  after  the  party  that  had  secured  his 
banishment  had  been  overthrown,  Calvin  was  persuaded 
to  return,  practically  on  his  own  terms.  Farel  refused 
to  do  likewise,  with  the  result  that  Calvin  was  left  in 
control  of  the  city. 


142     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

A  theocratic  government. — The  government  that 
Calvin  now  set  up  was  based  on  a  separation  between 
church  and  state,  with  the  church  having  the  power 
to  regulate  the  life  of  its  members  to  the  smallest  degree, 
and  the  state  bound  to  enforce  the  penalties  set  by  the 
church.  The  rule  of  the  church  was  democratic,  being 
in  the  hands  of  elders  elected  from  the  laity,  with  a 
minority  of  preachers. 

All  manner  of  sin  was  sternly  repressed  within  the 
city,  together  with  amusements  that  would  to-day  be 
regarded  as  entirely  innocent.  The  preachers  were  held 
at  a  high  level  by  frequent  meetings  for  self-examina- 
tion and  mutual  criticism.  Popular  education  was 
encouraged,  and  so  brilliantly  was  the  Protestant  posi- 
tion expounded  that  Geneva  became  a  center  for  non- 
Catholic  theological  training  to  which  men  came  from 
all  over  western  Europe. 

Life  under  the  reformers.— It  must  not  be  thought 
that  there  was  not  opposition  to  this  program  of  Calvin's. 
There  was.  Sometimes  this  took  the  form  of  attacking 
Calvin's  religious  teaching,  and  such  attacks  were 
rigorously  repressed.  Calvin's  position  was  that  of  a 
religious  teacher,  and  if  his  authority  in  that  field  were 
once  overthrown,  his  authority  in  all  other  fields  was 
bound  to  follow.  To  this  was  due  the  awful  penalty, 
death  by  fire,  visited  upon  an  eccentric  Spaniard, 
Servetus,  who  published  an  attack  upon  the  doctrine  of 
the  Trinity.  That  act  remains  as  a  blot  upon  Calvin's 
record,  although  it  must  be  remembered  that  it  was 
not  so  regarded  in  his  day. 

Sometimes  Calvin's  rule  was  attacked  by  the  old 
families  of  Geneva  because  he  was  attracting  so  many 
outsiders  to  join  with  him  in  governing  the  city.  Geneva, 
that  set  itself  before  the  world  as  a  city  in  which  the 


GENEVA— A  CITY  FOR  GOD  143 

will  of  God  held  sway,  naturally  attracted  men  of 
reforming  tendencies  who  often  became  leaders. 

And  sometimes  there  was  trouble  from  those  who, 
in  a  city  of  twenty  thousand  inhabitants,  would  be 
sure  to  oppose  any  strict  rule  at  all. 

But,  after  years  of  struggle,  the  position  of  Calvin 
became  secure.  He  never  accepted  civil  ofi5ce,  remain- 
ing always  a  simple  minister  among  the  many  in  the 
city.  His  power  was  that  of  character.  He  saw  the 
laws  he  desired  enacted  and  obeyed.  He  saw  the  schools 
he  coveted  founded  and  filled.  He  saw  the  cleanest 
and,  in  some  ways,  most  influential  city  in  Europe, 
grow.  And  at  last,  twenty-three  years  after  his  return 
from  exile,  after  a  life  of  fifty-five  years,  most  of  them 
lived  in  sickness  and  bodily  weakness,  he  died,  mourned 
as  few  men  have  been. 

What  Geneva  Accomplished 

It  is  hard  to  separate  the  contribution  of  Geneva, 
the  city  of  the  reformers,  from  that  of  Calvin,  the 
great  reformer. 

The  influence  of  Calvin. — Of  Calvin  it  has  been 
said,  ''Thanks  to  his  Institutes,  his  pattern  of  church 
government  in  Geneva,  his  academy,  his  commentaries, 
and  his  constant  correspondence,  he  molded  the  thought 
and  inspired  the  ideals  of  the  Protestantism  of  France, 
the  Netherlands,  Scotland,  and  the  English  Puritans. 
His  influence  penetrated  Poland  and  Hungary,  and  before 
his  death  Calvinism  was  taking  root  in  southwestern 
Germany.  Men  thought  his  thoughts  after  him.  His 
was  the  only  system  that  the  Reformation  produced 
that  could  organize  itself  powerfully  in  the  face  of 
governmental  hostility,  as  in  France  and  England. 
It  trained  strong  men,  confident  in  their  election  to  be 


144     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

fellow  workers  with  God  in  the  accomplishment  of  his 
will,  courageous  to  do  battle,  insistent  on  character, 
and  confident  that  God  has  given  in  the  Scriptures 
the  guide  of  all  right  human  conduct  and  proper 
worship."^ 

The  influence  of  Geneva. — But  Calvin  might  not 
have  accomplished  all  this  had  he  not  achieved  a  city 
in  which  his  ideas  had  fair  play.  "Geneva  became 
to  the  Romanic  nations  what  Wittenberg  was  to  the 
Germans.  .  .  .  Geneva  was  the  refuge  for  the  persecuted 
and  the  stronghold  from  which  missionaries  went  forth 
to  continue  the  battle.  From  its  printing  presses  Bibles 
and  numerous  other  publications  in  the  French  tongue 
were  scattered  abroad."'  And  in  the  midst  of  such  an 
atmosphere  men  like  John  Knox  could  dream  that  even 
a  country  might  be  ruled  in  accord  with  the  will  of  God, 
and  go  back  to  the  transformation  of  Scotland.  It  is 
easy  to  point  out  shortcomings  in  the  life  of  Geneva 
under  the  sixteenth-century  reformers.  When  the 
dream  of  the  city  ruled  by  God  is  truly  fulfilled,  life 
within  it  will  be  a  lovelier  thing  than  they  imagined. 
But  the  dream  they  had,  and  to  it  they  gave  expres- 
sion. So  Geneva  remains  a  landmark  in  Christian 
history. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  How  did  the  ideal  of  Saint  Augustine  for  a  "City 
of  God"  differ  from  that  of  John  Calvin? 

2.  Show  how  the  various  forms  of  preparation  fitted 
John  Calvin  for  different  portions  of  his  career. 

3.  What  can  you  discover  concerning  the  relations 
of  Luther,  Zwingli,  and  Calvin? 


'  Williston  Walker,  op.  cit.,  p.  400. 

»G.  P.  Fisher,  History  0/  the  Christian  Church,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  pub- 
lishers, p.  338.  , 


GENEVA— A  CITY  FOR  GOD  145 

4.  What  part  did  religious  education  play  in  the  work 
that  Calvin  did  in  Geneva? 

5.  Why  was  there  opposition  to  the  rule  of  Calvin? 

6.  Will  it  ever  be  possible  to  rule  a  city  as  a  part  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God?  How  will  such  a  government 
differ  from  that  of  Calvin  in  Geneva?  How  will  it  be 
similar? 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  REFORMATION  IN  ENGLAND  AND 
SCOTLAND 

In  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  England 
was  stirred  by  the  teaching  of  an  Oxford  scholar,  John 
Wiclif,  who  attacked  the  claims  of  the  papacy  to  tem- 
poral power,  and  even  asserted  that  in  religious  matters 
the  word  of  the  Pope  had  no  validity  unless  it  was  in 
accord  with  the  Scripture.  To  make  that  Scripture 
better  known,  Wiclif  translated  it,  and  the  translations 
were  scattered  throughout  England. 

Naturally,  the  church  took  issue  with  Wiclif.  Al- 
though he  was  protected  during  his  life  by  English 
nobles  who  approved  his  denunciation  of  the  ruler  in 
far-off  Rome,  after  his  death  the  church  condemned 
him,  his  body  was  disinterred  and  burned,  and  the  ashes 
scattered  on  the  water  of  the  little  stream  that  ran 
through  the  town  where  he  had  been  buried. 

But  it  was  impossible  to  reduce  all  those  versions 
of  the  Bible  in  the  common  tongue  to  ashes.  They 
went  on  doing  their  work  in  scores  of  homes.  Finally, 
a  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  after  Wiclif  died, 
there  came  to  the  throne  of  England  a  king  who  was 
to  separate  that  country  from  all  allegiance  to  Rome. 

A  Political  Reformation 

The  great  difference  between  the  revolt  of  northern 
Germany  from  the  power  of  the  Pope  and  the  revolt 
of  England  was  that  the  former  was,  at  bottom,  a 

146 


THE  REFORMATION  IN  ENGLAND     147 

religious,  and  the  latter  was  a  political  movement. 
To  be  sure,  there  were  religious  elements  aplenty  in 
the  English  Reformation,  just  as  there  were  political 
elements  in  the  German.  But  the  primary  effect  de- 
sired by  most  Englishmen  was  political — freedom  from 
a  foreign  power. 

The  "Defender  of  the  Faith."— When  Henry  VIII 
was  crowned,  in  1509,  he  was  greeted  with  acclamation 
by  his  own  subjects,  and  by  the  leaders  of  culture  in 
every  part  of  Europe.  He  had  shown  such  an  interest 
in  the  new  movements  of  learning  that  such  men  as 
Erasmus  flocked  to  his  realm. 

But  as  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII  advanced  he  began 
to  show  a  determination  to  have  his  own  way,  be  the 
difficulties  of  law  or  custom  what  they  might.  When 
Luther  first  began  to  attract  the  notice  of  Europe  the 
English  king  sought  to  pulverize  his  arguments  with 
a  discourse  that  drew  from  the  Pope,  in  gratitude,  the 
title  of  "Defender  of  the  Faith."  But  when,  a  few  years 
later,  the  King  wanted  to  do  something  that  the  Pope 
would  not  sanction,  Henry  did  not  hesitate  to  defy 
the  Pope,  free  the  church  in  his  realm  from  papal  author- 
ity, and  constitute  himself  "supreme  head  of  the  church" 
in  England,  despite  the  excommunication  that  the 
Pope  launched  against  him. 

The  question  on  which  the  King  and  Pope  came  to 
the  parting  of  the  ways  concerned  Henry's  marriage 
to  Catherine  of  Aragon.  Catherine  had  been  the  wife, 
nominally,  of  Henry's  brother.  At  the  brother's  death 
the  Spanish  princess  had  been  betrothed  to  the  younger 
brother.  As  such  a  marriage  of  a  widow  to  her  de- 
ceased husband's  brother  was  against  the  law,  it  was 
necessary  to  secure  a  special  dispensation  from  the 
Pope  before  it  could  be  consummated. 


148     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

After  several  years  it  became  apparent  that  Henry 
could  hope  for  no  male  heir  while  Catherine  remained 
his  wife.  The  absence  of  such  an  heir  would,  he  feared, 
bring  about  a  return  to  the  civil  war  that  had  preceded 
his  reign.  Besides,  he  had  discovered  in  the  English 
court  a  young  woman  who  attracted  him.  Alleging  a 
religious  scruple,  he  asked  the  Pope  to  rule  that  the  pre- 
ceding Pope  had  had  no  power  to  make  it  possible  for 
him  to  marry  his  brother's  wife.  When  the  Pope  hes- 
itated too  long,  Henry  declared  himself  the  head  of 
the  church  in  England,  secured  the  acceptance  of  that 
claim  by  the  majority  of  English  priests,  and  had  the 
marriage  annulled. 

The  Reformation  in  England  during  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII  never  went  much  further  than  that.  Free- 
dom from  the  authority  of  an  Italian  or  Frenchman  in 
Rome  was  what  the  English,  just  feeling  the  stirrings 
of  an  assertive  nationalism,  wanted,  and  the  King  had 
ample  support  for  his  action.  Moreover,  when  he 
closed  the  monasteries  (often  on  trumped-up  charges) 
and  divided  their  huge  revenues  with  favored  families, 
he  gained  in  support.  But  beyond  that  neither  the 
King  nor  the  majority  of  his  subjects  cared  to  go.  Wor- 
ship within  the  church  was  the  same  after  the  King  had 
been  substituted  for  the  pontiff  as  head.  And  although 
it  was  impossible  to  keep  England  entirely  free  from 
the  influence  of  the  ideas  that  were  so  powerful  in 
Germany,  France,  Switzerland,  and  Holland,  still  the 
principal  expression  of  those  ideas  seemed  to  be  con- 
fined to  the  enlarged  reading  of  the  Bible  in  English 
among  the  common  people. 

England's  first  Protestant  king.— When  Henry 
VIII  died  and  a  boy  nine  years  of  age,  Edward  VI, 
came  to  the  throne,  England  had  its  first  experience 


THE  REFORMATION  IN  ENGLAND     149 

with  a  truly  Protestant  monarch.  For,  whether  the 
credit  be  that  of  the  boy  king  or  his  counselors,  the 
six  years  of  his  reign  saw  a  real  Protestantism  estab- 
lished. Services  in  Latin  ceased.  The  Prayer  Book 
was  introduced,  and  was  distinctly  Protestant  in  its 
theological  positions.  The  ceHbacy  of  the  clergy  was 
no  longer  enforced.  The  fasts  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  were  neglected.  Ornate  costumes  for  priests 
were  abandoned.  And  the  influence  of  the  Protestant 
leaders  on  the  continent  was  to  be  felt  throughout  the 
country. 

The  Catholic  reaction.— Six  years  was  a  short  time 
in  which  to  introduce  such  sweeping  changes.  Before 
Edward's  brief  reign  closed  there  were  signs  of  trouble. 
With  the  coming  to  the  throne  of  his  half-sister,  Mary, 
the  Catholic  reaction  came  with  full  force.  Mary  was 
the  daughter  of  that  Catherine  of  Aragon,  who  had 
been  the  innocent  cause  of  the  break  between  Henry 
VIII  and  the  Pope.  She  had  been  reared  as  a  strict 
Catholic,  and  her  own  position  depended  upon  a  repudi- 
ation of  the  annulment  of  her  mother's  marriage.  Policy 
and  personal  inclination  therefore  combined  to  make 
her  remorseless  in  her  opposition  to  Protestanism. 

Mary  was  on  the  throne  but  five  years,  yet,  during 
that  time,  she  sent  three  hundred  Protestants  to  their 
deaths,  reestablished  the  rule  of  the  Pope  in  the  affairs 
of  the  church,  and  brought  back  almost  a  complete 
restoration  of  Catholic  worship,  although  she  was 
unable  to  return  to  the  church  the  wealth  of  the  monas- 
teries that  her  father  had  seized. 

What  theological  argument  might  never  have  done, 
those  five  years  of  Queen  Mary — "Bloody  Mary,"  as 
she  is  known  to  history — accomplished.  For  the  reestab- 
lishment  of  Catholicism  in  such  a  manner  was  its  ruin. 


I50     THE  SPREAD  OF   CHRISTIANITY 

Men  became  convinced  that  there  was  something 
fundamentally  wrong  with  a  church  that  employed 
such  means  of  imposing  its  will.  "Play  the  man,  Master 
Ridley,"  cried  Bishop  Latimer  as  the  two  were  bound 
to  the  stake.  "We  shall  this  day  light  up  such  a  candle, 
by  God's  grace,  in  England,  as  I  trust  shall  never  be 
put  out."  It  was  a  true  prophecy.  Catholic  rule  has 
been  impossible  in  England  since  the  day  Mary  died. 

Elizabeth  establishes  the  English  Church. — 
So,  at  the  mid-point  of  the  sixteenth  century,  there 
began,  under  Elizabeth,  another  daughter  of  Henry 
VIII,  one  of  England's  greatest  reigns.  Elizabeth  was 
one  of  the  great  women  of  history.  She  had  few  warm 
religious  beliefs,  but  she  was  a  remarkable  politician 
and  she  had  the  ability  to  secure  the  services  of  advisers 
of  the  first  rank. 

Elizabeth,  seeking  to  secure  the  safety  of  her  realm, 
feeling  the  reaction  from  the  merciless  policy  of  Mary, 
and  at  odds  with  Catholic  Spain,  gradually  but  inevitably 
swung  toward  Protestantism.  Once  more  she  declared 
the  freedom  of  the  church  in  her  kingdom  from  the 
authority  of  the  Pope.  Once  more  the  services  were 
conducted  in  English,  and  a  Book  of  Common  Prayer 
adopted.  Once  more  the  Protestant  theological  posi- 
tions were  approved  in  the  Articles  of  Religion  of  the 
English  Church.  And  although  attempts  were  made 
to  check  the  movement  toward  Protestantism  that  the 
Queen  was  so  strongly  leading,  from  the  day  when 
the  English  ships  and  the  elements  combined  to  defeat 
the  Spanish  Armada  the  future  of  England  as  a  Protes- 
tant land  was  fixed. 

Established  Church  and  Nonconformist 
In  every  reform  there  are  two  elements.     One  seeks 


THE  REFORMATION  IN  ENGLAND    151 

to  change  as  little  as  possible  and  still  secure  the  ends 
in  view.  The  other  seeks  radical  change.  In  the  trans- 
formation in  England  from  a  Catholic  to  a  Protestant 
country,  Henry  VIII  and  Elizabeth,  together  with  a 
majority  of  the  people,  belonged  to  the  first  class. 

The  Anglican  Church. — Thus  it  was  that  the  church 
recognized  by  those  monarchs,  and  by  them  construed 
to  include  every  loyal  subject  of  the  throne,  was  changed 
very  little  in  its  forms  from  the  Church  of  Rome.  To 
be  sure,  the  services  were  conducted  in  English,  and 
during  the  reign  of  Edward  VI  there  were  extensive 
alterations  in  worship  introduced.  But  under  Elizabeth 
these  alterations  were  held  to  a  minimum.  The  old 
tradition  of  an  unbroken  succession  of  ordinations  for 
bishops,  stretching  back  to  the  time  of  the  apostles, 
was  guarded  by  having  the  archbishop  the  Queen  selected 
consecrated  by  bishops  who  had  themselves  been  con- 
secrated under  the  Church  of  Rome  during  the  reign 
of  Henry  VIII. 

The  nonconformist  churches. — At  the  same  time, 
however,  the  death  of  Mary  had  brought  back  to  England 
great  numbers  of  men  who,  during  exile,  had  been 
strongly  impressed  by  the  leaders  of  Continental  Protes- 
tantism, especially  by  Calvin.  These  men  could  not 
be  satisfied  by  the  traces  of  Catholicism  they  found 
remaining  in  the  English  Church,  and  demanded  a 
further  purification.  For  this  reason  they  came  to  be 
known  as  Puritans,  and  as  such  they  were  to  exercise  a 
profound  influence  on  history. 

There  were  two  groups  of  Puritans.  One  preferred  to 
remain  within  the  Church  of  England  and  seek  to  change 
it  until  it  resembled  the  church  that  Calvin  held  up  as  a 
model.  The  other  believed  that  to  be  too  long  and 
difficult  a  course,  and  urged  complete  separation.     In 


152     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

that  day,  when  adherence  to  the  church  of  which  the 
sovereign  was  the  head  was  a  legal  test  of  loyalty,  such 
separation  brought  persecution.  For  that  reason,  men 
who  were  unwilling  to  conform  to  the  laws  of  worship  as 
established  by  the  government  were  constantly  being 
forced  to  flee  to  Holland  or  some  other  nearby  country. 
And  out  of  these,  in  the  swift  passage  of  the  years,  came 
the  great  nonconformist  denominations. 

We  have  not  room  here  to  tell  in  detail  of  the  origin 
of  these  denominations.  The  Puritans  who  believed  in  a 
church  governed  by  elders  rather  than  by  bishops — 
Calvin's  idea — became  known  as  Presbyterians,  after  the 
Greek  name  for  an  elder.  Those  who  beHeved  in  the 
right  of  each  congregation  to  govern  its  own  Ufe  and 
select  its  own  minister  became  known  as  Congrega- 
tionalists.  Those  who  placed  emphasis  upon  a  particular 
mode  of  baptism  and  rejected  the  infant  baptism  prac- 
ticed by  the  established  church  became  known  as 
Baptists.  And  finally,  during  the  intense  period  of  the 
English  civil  war,  when  the  Puritans  had  estabHshed  their 
ascendancy  (particularly  the  nonconformist  Puritans), 
there  developed  that  Society  of  Friends,  commonly 
known  as  the  Quakers. 

The  Preacher  Who  Vanquished  a  Queen 

The  story  of  the  Reformation  in  Scotland  is  largely 
the  story  of  the  struggle  between  Mary  Stuart,  Queen  of 
Scots,  and  John  Knox,  minister  of  the  gospel. 

John  Knox. — History  knows  few  more  rugged  or 
compelling  figures  than  that  of  John  Knox.  Born  in 
obscurity,  he  early  aligned  himself  with  the  first  stirrings 
of  Protestantism,  that  were  so  ruthlessly  repressed  by  the 
reigning  Stuart  family  and  the  Catholic  hierarchy  in 
Scotland.      Captured  by   French   troops,   Knox  spent 


THE  REFORMATION  IN  ENGLAND    153 

nineteen  months  as  a  galley  slave.  Released,  he  obtained 
prominence  as  a  Protestant  minister  in  the  England  of 
Edward  VI.  Compelled  to  fly  at  the  accession  of  Mary, 
he  became,  in  Geneva,  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  disciples 
of  John  Calvin.  A  short  stay  in  Scotland,  preaching 
Protestant  doctrines,  was  followed  by  another  sojourn  in 
Geneva.  Finally,  a  year  after  Elizabeth  was  crowned, 
Knox  was  ready  for  the  great  career  that  was  to  make 
him  the  uncrowned  king  of  his  native  land. 

Mary,  Queen  of  Scots. — Four  years  before  John 
Knox  went  to  the  French  galleys  a  baby  girl  became 
Queen  of  Scotland.  She  lived  most  of  her  girlhood  in 
France.  In  the  year  that  Elizabeth  became  a  queen,  this 
cousin  of  hers  married  the  heir  to  the  French  throne. 
In  the  next  year  her  husband  became  King  of  France,  and 
the  fortunes  of  Scotland  and  France  were  united.  In  the 
next  year  this  husband  died,  and  in  the  next  year  the 
young  widow  returned  to  her  kingdom  to  play  out  her 
part  in  history  as  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots. 

The  struggle  for  Scotland. — It  was  an  action  of 
important  Scottish  nobles,  inspired  by  a  fear  that  their 
country  was  becoming  nothing  but  a  province  of  France, 
that  encouraged  Knox  to  return  to  Scotland.  He  found 
multitudes  of  the  common  people  and  many  of  the 
nobility  eager  to  respond  to  his  message.  In  fact,  the 
ruthless  way  in  which  in  some  places  the  last  vestige  of 
the  old  Catholic  worship  was  destroyed  went  beyond  any- 
thing Knox  himself  desired. 

For  a  time  Knox  and  his  supporters  had  to  fight  for 
their  beliefs,  but  opportune  help  from  England  defeated 
the  French  troops  that  the  Stuarts  called  to  their  aid,  and 
the  Scottish  Parliament  adopted  a  Calvinistic  faith  and 
a  Presbyterian  form  of  church  organization  for  the  coun- 
try. When  Mary  returned  to  her  throne  she  found  Knox 


154     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

in  the  full  tide  of  enforcing  for  the  nation  a  regime  as 
strict  as  Calvin  had,  in  Geneva,  enforced  for  the  city. 

Mary  went  about  her  effort  to  undo  the  work  that 
Knox  had  done  in  a  careful  fashion.  Her  principal  weapon 
was  her  undeniable  charm,  and  upon  all  but  John  Knox 
she  was  able  to  use  that  weapon  with  great  effect.  She 
made  no  secret  of  her  own  personal  attachment  to 
CathoHcism,  but  she  sought  to  convince  the  leaders  of 
Scotland  that  she  was  to  be  trusted  with  power.  Knox 
never  trusted  her.  She  phed  her  arts  of  blandishment  by 
the  hour,  and  the  next  Sunday  the  pulpit  of  Saint  GUes 
would  echo  with  further  denunciations  of  her  by  the 
stern  Scotch  preacher. 

Finally  Mary  threw  away  her  own  cause.  The  story 
of  her  love  affairs  is  too  long,  too  muddled,  too  sordid  to 
be  retold  here.  At  the  last  she  was  forced  to  turn  over 
the  throne  to  her  infant  son  (afterward  to  be  King  of 
England  as  well  as  Scotland)  and  throw  herself  upon  the 
mercy  of  Elizabeth.  Nineteen  years  after  she  fled  from 
Scotland  she  was  executed  as  a  conspirator  against  the 
life  of  the  queen  who  had  given  her  refuge. 

Four  years  after  Mary  fled  Knox  died,  "having  in- 
fluenced not  merely  the  religion  but  the  character  of  the 
nation  more  than  any  other  man  in  Scottish  history."  ^ 
He  left  a  church  that  has  been  one  of  the  bulwarks  of 
Protestantism  in  all  the  succeeding  centuries. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  Give  a  detailed  account  of  the  life  and  work  of 
Wiclif. 

2.  What  can  you  tell  about  Tyndale;  Wolsey;  Cranmer; 
Thomas  Cromwell? 


Williston  Walker,  op.  cil.,  p.  42a. 


THE  REFORMATION  IN  ENGLAND     155 

3.  Why  were  the  reformers  so  anxious  to  have  the 
Bible  in  the  vernacular? 

4.  Read  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  of  Religion  of  the 
Church  of  England.  Which  ones  would  have  been 
unacceptable  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church? 

5.  Were  there  ever  persecutions  of  Catholics  under 
Protestant  monarchs  in  the  period  under  study?  To 
what  extent?    Can  such  persecutions  be  justified? 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

EARLY  MISSIONARIES  IN  THE  AMERICAS 

While  England  and  Scotland,  and  other  European 
countries,  were  settling  their  relations  v/ith  the  papacy, 
the  spread  of  Christianity  was  continuing.  We  have 
seen  (see  Chapter  XIV)  how  Francis  Xavier  and  his 
comrades  carried  the  gospel  to  the  oldest  civilizations. 
Now  we  find  others  equally  eager  bearing  the  same  mes- 
sage to  a  New  World. 

The  Legacy  of  the  Pope 

In  the  same  year  that  Columbus  landed  on  San 
Salvador  a  member  of  the  infamous  Borgia  family  of 
Italy  became  Pope.  He  is  known  to  history  as  Alexander 
VI,  and  with  most  of  his  acts  we  have  no  concern. 

But  this  Pope  was  as  excited  by  the  prospect  of  new 
lands  as  were  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  of  Spain,  or  John 
of  Portugal.  Most  of  the  first  discoveries  were  made  by 
subjects  of  these  two  monarchies.  The  rulers,  as  good 
Catholics,  were  anxious  that  the  territories  thus  added 
to  their  crowns  should  recognize  the  "true  faith."  More- 
over, they  desired  such  legalizing  of  their  title  to  these 
new  lands  as  was  possible. 

Alexander  VI,  acting  upon  the  theory  of  the  power  of 
the  Pope  to  rule  in  all  matters,  temporal  as  well  as 
spiritual,  proposed  to  legalize  the  claims  of  Portugal  and 
Spain  in  return  for  the  assurance  that  Catholicism  should 
have  complete  control  in  the  religious  affairs  of  the 
colonies.    Accordingly,  "of  his  mere  liberality,"  as  one 

156 


MISSIONARIES   IN   THE  AMERICAS     157 

writer  puts  it,  he  divided  all  the  lands  to  be  discovered 
between  the  two  nations.    Spain  was  to  have  practically 
all  in  the  New  World  and  Portugal  the  rest. 
Generous  Pope  Alexander! 

Catholic  Missions  in  Latin-America 

In  an  effort  to  take  full  advantage  of  the  opportunities 
offered  by  the  discoveries,  Dominicans,  Franciscans,  and 
Jesuits  pressed  hard  on  the  heels  of  Spanish  and  Por- 
tuguese conquerors.  The  legacy  of  Alexander  VI  thus 
became  a  missionary  work  among  the  natives  of  the  New 
World  as  devoted  as  that  carried  on  in  India,  China,  or 
Japan. 

The  apostle  of  the  West  Indies. — The  most  attrac- 
tive figure  that  looms  out  of  these  attempts  to  convert 
the  aborigines  of  New  Spain  was  Bartholomew  de  Las 
Casas.  Son  of  a  Spaniard  who  had  accompanied  Colum- 
bus on  his  first  voyage,  the  young  missionary  was  himself 
in  the  West  Indies  ten  years  after  that  memorable  dis- 
covery. He  was  the  first  man  to  be  ordained  in  the  New 
World,  and  few  have  proved  more  worthy  of  their 
calling. 

Las  Casas  found  the  natives  treated  as  slaves  by  the 
Spaniards.  Some  had  even  been  shipped  to  Spain  in  that 
condition,  where  they  had  been  released  by  the  humane 
Queen  Isabella.  Driven  to  work  in  the  mines  and  pearl- 
fisheries,  under  horrible  conditions,  the  unfortunate  West 
Indians  suffered  barbarously  and  died  in  great  numbers. 

To  fight  such  evils  Las  Casas  devoted  his  whole  life. 
With  flaming  eloquence  he  enlisted  support  in  Spain,  and 
with  unswerving  devotion  he  lightened  the  lot  of  the 
native  laborers  in  the  West  Indies.  He  was  hated, 
threatened,  balked  in  every  possible  way  by  most  of  the 
other  Spaniards  in  the  islands.    Yet  he  drove  doggedly 


158     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

ahead,  an  early  apostle  of  social  justice  as  a  necessary 
ground  for  religious  blessing. 

"He  crossed  the  ocean  twelve  times;  he  traversed 
every  then  known  region  of  America  and  the  islands;  he 
made  repeated  journeys  from  Spain  to  Flanders  and 
Germany,  to  see  the  Emperor  on  the  affairs  of  his  mission ; 
his  hterary  labors  would  have  been  remarkable  even  in  a 
scholar  who  had  no  calling  outside  the  halls  of  his  college 
or  the  quiet  of  his  private  study."  ^ 

Before  his  career  closed.  Las  Casas  had  the  joy  of 
seeing  most  of  the  natives  of  the  West  Indies  converted 
to  an  at  least  nominal  form  of  Catholicism.  But  one  act 
remains  to  stain  the  record  of  a  hfe  of  singular  unselfish- 
ness. In  his  zeal  to  protect  his  West  Indian  converts 
from  the  strain  of  work  which  they  could  not  survive, 
Las  Casas  did  not  oppose  the  importation  into  the  New 
World  of  slave  labor  from  Africa.  At  the  time  the  great 
missionary  beheved  Negroes  able  to  undergo  such  toil 
without  hurt,  but  later,  when  the  consequences  of  the 
slave  trade  became  clear,  Las  Casas  bitterly  repented. 
To  secure  relief  for  one  group  of  men  he  had  permitted 
a  terrible  injustice  to  be  done  another.  It  was  too  high 
a  price. 

In  the  footsteps  of  Cortez. — When  Cortez,  the  fa- 
mous Spanish  conqueror,  marched  to  the  overthrow  of 
the  ancient  Aztec  kingdom  in  Mexico,  he  bore  with  him 
instructions  from  Queen  Isabella,  again  recalling  the 
legacy  of  Alexander  VI.  "Speaking  of  the  grant  .  .  . 
as  an  endeavor  'to  induce  and  bring  the  people  thereof, 
by  conversion,  to  the  holy  CathoHc  faith,'  and  to  send  to 
these  islands  and  continents  prelates,  clergymen,  and 
gifted  persons  who  fear  God  and  who  will  instruct  the 
residents  in  good  doctrine  and  customs;  then,  with  a 

'Quoted  by  Fisher,  op.  cit.,  p.  450,  451. 


MISSIONARIES   IN   THE  AMERICAS     159 

woman's  heart,  she  entreats  that  they  be  well  treated 
and  receive  no  injury  in  their  persons."  ^ 

Cortez  was  glad  to  open  the  way  for  the  missionary 
efforts  of  the  priests  who  accompanied  his  expedition,  and 
who  came  into  Mexico  in  greater  numbers  after  he  had 
obtained  control  of  the  country.  The  priests,  most  of 
whom  were  Franciscans,  threw  themselves  into  their 
work  with  such  enthusiasm  that,  within  a  generation,  a 
form  of  Catholicism  had  been  estabhshed  in  aU  parts  of 
the  country. 

Not  much  can  be  said  for  the  ethical  content  of  the 
rehgion  thus  estabhshed.  The  Catholic  missionaries 
found  it  too  easy  to  "convert"  the  natives  from  the 
worship  that  had  flourished  under  the  Aztecs  to  the  new 
order  by  simply  changing  the  names  of  the  old  feasts  and 
observances.  There  was  too  little  attempt  to  give  the 
converts  any  true  conception  of  either  the  spirit  or  doc- 
trine of  real  Christianity.  And  while,  in  the  monasteries 
soon  established,  priests  were  trained  who  were  able  to 
take  the  Catholic  message  up  through  what  is  now  our 
Spanish  Southwest  into  California,  and  it  is  even  de- 
clared that  missionaries  were  sent  from  Mexico  to  the 
Phihppines,  the  common  people  remained  wedded  to 
such  degraded  forms  that  the  country  is  still  "mission 
territory." 

An  attempt  at  Christian  communism.— In  the 
meantime  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  adventurers  were 
pressing  down  into  South  America,  giving  that  continent 
the  distinctive  Latin  flavor  it  wiU  probably  always  retain. 
Everywhere  they  went  they  took  Catholicism  with  them, 
although  frequently  in  a  form  little  better  than  that 
planted  in  Mexico. 

No  attempt  of  that  period  is  of  greater  interest  than 

'  Hodgkins,  Via  Christi,  p.  173. 


i6o     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

that  made  in  certain  parts  of  Paraguay  by  the  Jesuits. 
In  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  Catholic 
missionaries  had  become  convinced  that  they  would 
never  be  able  to  secure  the  proper  fruit  of  their  evangel- 
izing efforts  until  they  could,  in  some  manner,  separate 
their  work  from  the  influence  of  the  soldiers,  slavers,  and 
traders  who  made  up  the  rest  of  the  Spanish  population. 
Accordingly,  the  KLing  of  Spain  was  induced  to  give  the 
Jesuits  a  portion  of  Paraguay  which  was  to  be  outside 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  civil  authorities,  and  into  which 
no  Spaniards  save  the  priests  could  come. 

In  this  protected  area  the  Jesuits  gathered  colonies  of 
their  converts,  to  which  were  given  the  name  of  reduc- 
tions. Here  the  native  Christians  stood  on  a  level.  There 
was  no  private  property,  no  private  control  of  time  or 
energy.  The  priest  was  in  complete  control,  and  governed 
each  community  as  a  paternal  despot.  There  were  no 
drones.  All  were  taught  to  work  at  tasks  that  con- 
tributed directly  to  the  good  of  the  common  body.  The 
rudiments  of  an  education  were  given  each  member  of 
the  community. 

To  a  believer  in  individual  initiative  such  a  system 
might  seem  intolerable.  But,  when  compared  with  the 
condition  of  the  natives  in  other  parts  of  the  Spanish 
dominions,  these  inhabitants  of  the  reductions  appeared 
so  well  off  that  the  system  of  priest-controlled  com- 
munities became  famous.  This  was  felt  to  be  an  almost 
perfect  form  of  Christian  missions.  It  disappeared,  how- 
ever, when  the  Jesuits  were  disbanded  in  the  eighteenth 
century. 

Among  the  North  American  Indians 
The  record  of  missionary  enterprises  among  the  Indians 


MISSIONARIES   IN   THE  AMERICAS     i6i 

of  the  North  American  continent  is  as  heroic  as  any 
page  in  Catholic  history. 

New  France  as  a  missionary  base. — While  mission- 
aries penetrated  north  to  some  extent  from  the  Spanish 
colonies,  the  most  famous  work  for  the  natives  of  North 
America  was  that  carried  on  from  the  French  settlements 
in  Quebec,  Montreal,  and  along  the  Saint  Lawrence. 

Three  great  Indian  tribes  challenged  the  Franciscans 
who  moved  to  their  conversion  from  the  Canadian  base. 
These  were  the  Algonquins,  the  Hurons,  and  the  Iroquois. 
The  two  latter  were  the  most  powerful  native  tribes  of 
that  period. 

The  story  of  the  Catholic  missions  among  these  Indians 
is  much  like  the  story  of  all  the  dealings  of  red  man  and 
white.  The  Indians  were  constantly  pressed  westward, 
and  the  more  intimate  their  contact  with  the  missionaries 
the  more  disastrous  seemed  the  results. 

The  Algonquins  were  the  first  reached  to  any  large 
extent,  only  to  be  wiped  out  by  disease  and  warfare. 
Then  the  Hurons,  after  a  long  resistance,  began  to  accept 
baptism,  and  they  too  were  extinguished.  Finally  the 
Iroquois,  moved  by  the  heroism  of  the  Jesuits  who  had 
succeeded  the  Franciscans  in  the  task,  asked  for  mis- 
sionaries. But  the  efforts  of  the  priests  among  them 
never  came  to  much. 

Probably  the  single  feature  of  this  Catholic  effort  to 
spread  Christianity  that  is  most  remembered  is  the  trip 
that  Father  Marquette  made  in  1673,  when  he  accom- 
panied Joliet  on  his  famous  voyage  down  the  Mississippi. 
The  presence  of  this  priest  on  this  adventure  of  discovery 
serves  to  show  how  close  upon  the  feet  of  the  first  ex- 
plorers pressed  the  evangelists. 

Reaching  the  Indians  in  New  England. — In  the 
previous  chapter  we  spoke  of  the  rise  of  the  Puritans  in 


i62     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

England,  and  of  the  dissatisfaction  of  some  of  them  with 
the  state  of  rehgion  at  that  time  within  the  established 
church.  Eventually  this  moved  groups  of  varying  size  to 
come  to  the  New  World,  where,  in  New  England,  they 
founded  those  colonies  that  were  to  become  a  Puritan 
center  for  all  the  western  world. 

The  New  England  pioneers  were  primarily  interested 
in  their  own  political  and  religious  welfare,  but  they  were 
sincere  enough  Christians  to  desire  that  the  blessings  of 
the  gospel  be  shared  with  the  Indians  they  found  inhabit- 
ing the  parts  where  they  settled.  To  be  sure,  it  has  been 
possible  for  historians  to  point  out  that  Indian  wars 
preceded  the  Indian  missions,  but  it  was  only  a  short 
time  until  men  were  preaching  to  the  natives. 

An  early  leader  among  these  Protestant  missionaries 
was  John  Eliot,  a  graduate  of  Cambridge  University,  who 
abandoned  his  position  as  minister  to  one  of  the  colonies 
to  give  his  whole  strength  to  work  among  the  Indians. 
Like  many  another  missionary  pioneer,  his  best  work  was 
the  translation  of  the  Bible  into  the  Indian  tongue. 
Roger  Williams,  also  a  graduate  of  Cambridge,  labored 
mightily  in  the  same  field,  and  contributed  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Indian  language. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  What  lands  were  included  within  the  grant  of 
Alexander  VI  to  the  kings  of  Spain  and  Portugal? 

2.  Give  a  more  detailed  description  of  the  life  and  work 
of  Las  Casas. 

3.  What  can  you  discover  about  the  religion  of  the 
Aztecs? 

4.  Woiild  you  recommend  the  policy  followed  in  the 
reductions  as  a  good  one  to  be  used  in  missionary  work? 
Give  reasons  for  or  against. 


MISSIONARIES   IN   THE   AMERICAS     i6 


J 


5.  Why  did  the  coming  of  the  white  man  have  a  harm- 
ful effect  upon  the  Indians  of  North  America? 

6.  Would  you  consider  missionary  efforts  among  the 
American  Indians  as  successful  or  otherwise? 


CHAPTER  XIX 
PROTESTANTISM  FACES  THE  WIDER  WORLD 

As  we  have  traced  the  exploits  of  Francis  Xavier  in  the 
Orient,  of  Las  Casas  in  the  West  Indies,  of  the  Jesuits 
in  Paraguay  and  among  the  Hurons  and  Iroquois,  it  has 
become  apparent  that,  for  the  centuries  immediately 
following  the  Reformation,  the  work  of  spreading  Chris- 
tianity was  left  largely  in  the  hands  of  the  CathoUc 
Church. 

To  be  sure,  there  were  some  attempts  to  reach  the 
North  American  Indians  by  the  Protestants  who  came 
to  the  New  World,  and  in  Brazil  the  French  Huguenot 
leader.  Admiral  Coligny,  tried  to  plant  a  colony  that,  had 
it  not  been  betrayed,  might  have  become  a  missionary 
center.  But  these  were  on  so  small  a  scale,  and  enlisted 
the  support  of  so  small  a  part  of  Protestantism,  that  it  is 
almost  true  to  say  that  for  three  centuries  after  its 
founding  Protestantism  had  no  world  vision  or  world 
message. 

The  Early  Protestant  Attitude  Toward  the 
Non-Christian  World 

Until  the  Puritans  sought  freedom  of  worship  on  the 
shores  of  New  England,  Protestantism  was  confined  to  a 
relatively  small  portion  of  the  world's  surface. 

The  size  of  the  non-Christian  world. — Consider  the 
world  as  it  would  have  appeared  on  a  religious  map  of  the 
sixteenth  or  seventeenth  century.  All  the  countries  of 
Europe,   except  a  portion  of  the  arctic  regions,  were 

164 


PROTESTANTISM   FACES  WORLD     165 

nominally  Christian.  But  in  the  far  North  the  Christian 
colony  that  had  been  planted  in  Greenland  in  the  year 
1000  had  disappeared.  Asia  Minor,  Palestine,  North 
Africa,  where  had  once  been  flourishing  churches,  were 
in  the  hands  of  Islam.  The  Nestorian  missions  in  India 
and  China  had  disappeared,  and  the  later  Catholic  mis- 
sions in  the  Far  East  were  tending  rapidly  toward  eclipse. 
The  aborigines  of  the  two  great  newly  discovered  conti- 
nents had  scarcely  been  touched.  Africa  was  the  un- 
known continent,  and  would  so  remain  for  centuries. 
Most  of  the  islands  of  the  sea,  including  Australasia,  had 
yet  to  be  discovered.  It  was  an  enormous  world  of  need 
and  opportunity  that  lay  in  waiting. 

"Casting  pearls  before  swine." — It  seems  incredible 
that  "the  Reformers  of  the  sixteenth  century,  in  Germany 
and  Switzerland,  France  and  Sweden,  Scotland  and 
England,  lived  right  through  the  greatest  age  of  discovery 
the  world  has  ever  yet  seen,  but  in  vain  so  far  as  foreign 
missions  are  concerned."^  Yet  that  is  precisely  what 
happened. 

Erasmus  had  a  sense  of  the  world  responsibility  of  the 
church,  but  Luther  and  the  other  leaders  who  broke  clear 
away  from  Rome  did  not.  An  attitude  that  it  took 
centuries  to  dispel  was  expressed  by  a  later  Lutheran 
leader:  "With  respect  to  the  heathen  who  are  to  be  con- 
verted, they  must  not  be  barbarians  who  have  hardly 
aught  of  humanity  but  the  outward  form,  such  as  Green- 
landers,  Lapps,  Samoyedes,  cannibals;  they  must  not  be 
fierce  and  tyrannical,  allowing  no  strangers  to  live  and 
associate  with  them,  like  the  remote  Tartars  beyond  the 
Caspian  Sea,  or  whole  nations  in  the  northern  regions  of 
America.  In  short,  they  must  not  be  headstrong  blas- 
phemers, persecutors,  despisers  of  the  Christian  religion. 

1  George  Smith,  Short  History  of  Christian  Missions,  p.  112. 


i66     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

The  holy  things  of  God  are  not  to  be  cast  before  such 
dogs  and  swine!"  And  it  was  easy  for  one  who  could 
think  of  men  in  non-Christian  lands  as  "dogs  and  swine" 
to  add  the  question  that  is  sometimes  still  heard,  "Have 
we  not  Jews  and  heathen  among  ourselves?"^ 

With  such  an  attitude  as  this,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the 
powerful  Protestant  bodies,  such  as  the  Lutherans  in 
Germany,  the  Presbyterians  in  Scotland,  and  the  Church 
of  England,  did  almost  nothing  to  expand  the  reign  of 
Christ  beyond  their  own  frontiers. 

Why  Protestantism  was  provincial. — Studying  that 
time  in  the  perspective  supplied  by  these  years,  we  can 
see  some  of  the  causes  that  helped  to  make  those  early 
Protestants  so  provincial  in  their  thinking. 

For  one  thing,  it  took  them  long  years  of  struggle,  lead- 
ing in  many  cases  to  bloody  warfare,  so  to  establish  their 
position  that  they  could  be  assured  of  permanency. 
Safety  seemed  to  demand  that  they  center  their  atten- 
tions upon  their  own  situation. 

Again,  the  Protestants  soon  fell  into  vigorous  disputes 
among  themselves,  as  well  as  with  the  Catholics,  as  to 
the  truth  of  their  various  doctrines.  So  much  strength 
was  consumed  in  such  arguments  that  Uttle  was  left  to 
devote  to  other  interests. 

Finally,  there  was  a  general  acceptance  of  a  belief  that 
the  end  of  all  earthly  things  was  at  hand.  "Another 
hundred  years  and  all  will  be  over,"  said  Luther.  Sen- 
tences in  the  Bible  were  twisted  to  teach  that,  now  that 
the  "pure  gospel"  of  Protestantism  had  been  proclauned, 
Christ  would  return.  And  in  view  of  the  impending  end 
it  was  felt  scarcely  worth  the  while  to  spend  energy  on 
efforts  in  other  lands  that  would  never  have  time  to  come 
to  much  fruition. 


'Quoted  by  Hodgkins,  op.  cil.,  pp.  162,  163- 


PROTESTANTISM   FACES  WORLD     167 

The  First  Stirrings  of  Protestant  Interest 

But  there  were,  here  and  there,  men  with  largeness 
enough  of  heart  and  imagination  to  see  the  world  task 
that  lay  before  the  church,  and  call  men  to  it. 

Early  voices. — The  first  voices  that  spoke  out  were 
Dutchmen,  who  had  been  awakened  to  an  interest  in  the 
non- Christian  world  as  their  nation  drove  the  Portuguese 
out  of  possession  of  the  Malay  Archipelago,  South  India, 
and  Ceylon.  Their  inspirer  was  Hugo  Grotius,  "the 
father  of  international  law."  Just  because  the  great 
Dutch  jurist  thought  internationally  he  inspired  a  few 
men  to  live  in  the  same  way,  as  missionaries  in  the  East. 

In  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  a  German 
nobleman,  Baron  von  Welz,  startled  Lutheranism  with  a 
pamphlet,  Invitation  for  a  Society  of  Jesus  to  Promote 
Christianity  and  the  Conversion  of  Heathendom,  in  which 
were  pressed  home  such  questions  as  these:  Is  it  right  to 
keep  the  gospel  to  ourselves?  Is  it  right  that  students  of 
theology  should  be  confined  to  home  parishes?  Is  it  right 
for  Christians  to  spend  so  much  on  clothing,  eating, 
drinking,  and  to  take  no  thought  to  spread  the  gospel? 
Baron  von  Welz  pleaded  for  the  establishment  of  mis- 
sionary training  courses  in  connection  with  German 
universities,  and  when  the  church  turned  a  deaf  ear  to 
his  challenge  he  renounced  his  title,  went  out  to  Dutch 
Guiana,  and  there  became  the  first  missionary  martyr  of 
the  church  that  had  proved  two  centuries  behind  him 
in  thought. 

The  final  appeal  came  not  from  a  minister  or  a  philan- 
thropist but  from  the  great  scientist,  von  Leibnitz,  who, 
stirred  by  the  success  of  the  Jesuit  teachers  in  China, 
urged  Protestantism  to  duplicate  that  achievement  by 
sending  missionaries  of  outstanding  mental  ability  to 


i68     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Peking  by  way  of  Russia.  In  fact,  von  Leibnitz  carried 
the  project  to  the  point  of  inserting  it  in  the  statutes  of 
the  Berlin  Academy  of  Sciences,  which  he  founded  in  the 
first  year  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  first  regular  mission. — It  required  a  revival 
within  Lutheranism,  accompanied  by  the  favor  of  a  king, 
to  send  the  first  regularly  organized  Protestant  mission 
to  its  monumental  work  in  India. 

During  the  closing  years  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
the  religious  life  of  Protestant  Germany  was  lifted  from 
barren  theological  discussion  to  warm  spiritual  fervor  by 
the  activities  of  a  group  who  are  known  to  history  as  the 
Pietists.  One  of  the  leaders  of  this  movement  became 
chaplain  to  the  King  of  Denmark,  and  aroused  that 
monarch's  concern  for  the  conversion  of  the  natives  in 
the  territory  held  by  the  Danish  East  India  Company. 
So  it  was  that,  in  1706,  in  Tranquebar,  a  city  on  the  coast 
of  India  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  south  of  Madras, 
two  young  graduates  of  the  University  of  Copenhagen 
began  their  work. 

As  we  have  seen  in  other  missionary  enterprises,  the 
first  concern  of  these  pioneers  was  to  translate  the  Bible 
into  Tamil,  the  native  language.  Other  Christian 
literature  was  prepared,  and  recruits  came  to  reenforce. 
Despite  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  European  officials, 
who  did  not  want  to  see  the  natives  brought  to  a  position 
where  they  might  assert  their  own  rights,  the  mission 
prospered.  Finally  its  success  was  assured  by  the  addition 
of  Christian  Frederic  Schwartz,  who  lived  until  within 
two  years  of  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century,  five 
years  after  William  Carey  had  started  the  first  English 
Protestant  work  in  the  same  land. 

By  all  tests  Schwartz  is  one  of  the  great  figures  of 
Protestant  missions.     A  graduate  of  the  University  of 


PROTESTANTISM   FACES  WORLD     169 

Halle,  he  evidenced  such  a  linguistic  ability  that,  within 
a  year  after  his  arrival  in  Tranquebar,  he  was  preaching 
to  multitudes.  From  the  first  he  proved  able  to  win  the 
confidence  of  the  native  princes,  and  frequently  mediated 
between  them  and  the  European  officials  when  mutual 
suspicion  seemed  to  have  closed  every  other  avenue  of 
preserving  the  peace.  "Send  me  the  Christian,"  said  a 
rajah  when  about  to  negotiate  with  the  English.  "He 
will  not  deceive  me."  He  won  the  affection  of  the  masses 
by  storing  rice  in  anticipation  of  a  three  years'  famine, 
and  then  distributing  it  to  those  in  need.  He  proved  his 
farsightedness  by  establishing  a  system  of  vernacular 
schools,  which  British  and  native  ofiicials  were  glad  to 
support.  When  he  died  the  Rajah  of  Tanjore,  the  British 
East  India  Company,  and  the  foreign  community  erected 
monuments  to  his  memory,  but  the  true  monument  was 
the  church  that  he  left  flourishing  in  that  part  of 
India. 

The  work  of  the  Quakers. — Previously  (see  Chap- 
ter XVII)  we  have  noted  the  formation  of  the  Society 
of  Friends  in  England  by  George  Fox.  The  intense 
humanitarian  interest  of  the  Quakers — exhibited  through 
all  the  years  down  to  the  present,  when  they  are  at  work 
feeding  the  hungry  in  Central  Europe  and  Russia — fired 
them  with  a  resolve  to  uplift  the  degraded,  especially 
Negro  slaves. 

It  was  this  spirit  that  moved  Fox  to  write,  "All 
Friends  everywhere,  that  have  Indians  or  blacks,  you 
are  to  preach  the  gospel  to  them  and  other  servants,  if 
you  be  true  Christians,  for  the  gospel  of  salvation  was  to 
be  preached  to  every  creature  under  heaven."  And  this 
spirit  sent  some  Quaker  enthusiasts  to  preach  in  Jeru- 
salem, Alexandria,  and  Constantinople,  and  inspired  the 
more  practical  Christian  example  shown  by  William  Penn 


I70     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

and  his  associates  in  their  dealings  with  the  Indians  in 
Pennsylvania. 

The  Church  of  the  Brethren 

From  long  years  of  persecution  in  Bohemia,  there  came 
to  settle  in  Saxony  in  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  a  group  of  Protestants  who  knew  themselves 
as  the  United  Brethren,  but  who  are  generally  called  the 
Moravians,  because  of  the  province  from  which  they  came. 

Count  von  Zinzendorf. — It  was  at  Herrnhut,  on  the 
estates  of  Count  von  Zinzendorf,  that  these  wanderers 
found  a  home.  Here,  under  the  control  of  the  count, 
they  founded  a  religious  community  that  has  exerted  an 
influence  throughout  the  world  out  of  all  relation  to  its 
size. 

Count  von  Zinzendorf  was  an  attractive  figure.  At 
four  years  of  age  he  is  said  to  have  made  this  covenant: 
"Be  thou  mine,  dear  Saviour,  and  I  will  be  thine."  Well 
educated,  he  refused  to  live  the  sort  of  life  that  was  usual 
among  the  German  nobility  of  his  day,  and  brought 
down  upon  himself  such  hostility  for  his  piety  that  he 
was  banished  from  court.  Probably  he  was  well  content 
to  take  up  the  quiet  life  of  a  rehgious  enthusiast,  spurred 
by  his  motto:  "I  have  one  passion,  and  that  is  He,  He 
alone!" 

Moravian  missions. — Zinzendorf  had  a  great  mis- 
sionary outlook.  Under  his  leadership  the  church  of  the 
United  Brethren  sent  its  members  to  what  were  con- 
sidered the  neediest  spots  on  earth.  The  count  himself 
visited  England,  Holland,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Prussia, 
Switzerland,  the  West  Indies,  and  America,  and  his  repre- 
sentatives reached  South  America,  South  Africa,  interior 
Africa,  Greenland,  and  many  of  the  Indian  tribes  of 
North  America. 


PROTESTANTISM  FACES  WORLD     171 

Some  have  pointed  out  that  these  Moravian  missions 
never  reached  large  dimensions  in  the  mass;  that  they 
were  mainly  carried  on  by  men  with  little  education ;  that 
they  were  ''directed  to  races  and  tribes  too  obscure, 
savage,  or  transient  to  influence  the  great  centers  and 
citadels  of  heathendom,  the  great  non-Christian  and 
anti-Christian  systems  and  civilizations."  But  still  we 
must  acknowledge  the  devotion  of  a  church  that  has 
been  able  to  place  one  missionary  in  the  field  for  every 
fifty-eight  members  at  the  home  base.  No  other  body, 
Protestant  or  Catholic,  can  approach  that  record. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  How  large  was  the  area  of  Protestantism  at  the 
opening  of  the  nineteenth  century?    How  large  is  it  now? 

2.  Give  a  fuller  account  of  the  life  of  Hugo  Grotius. 

3.  What  can  you  discover  concerning  the  history  of 
the  British  and  Dutch  East  India  companies? 

4.  How  did  the  work  of  such  companies  affect  Chris- 
tian missions? 

5.  How  did  the  treatment  accorded  the  Indians  in 
Pennsylvania  differ  from  that  in  other  parts  of  the  col- 
onies?    With  what  results? 

6.  Why  have  missionaries  so  frequently  begun  their 
work  by  translating  the  Bible  into  the  language  of  the 
region  where  they  have  gone? 


CHAPTER  XX 
METHODISM  BRINGS  NEW  ENERGY 

Historians  agree  that  civilization  in  modern  England 
reached  its  lowest  ebb  during  the  early  years  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  Corruption  in  politics,  formaUsm  in 
reUgion,  immorality  in  the  lives  of  the  rich,  and  besotted- 
ness  in  the  hves  of  the  poor,  were  the  marks  of  the  period. 
The  church,  both  estabhshed  and  nonconformist,  had 
almost  ceased  to  have  any  real  power  in  the  lives  of  men. 

"Rehgion  seemed  to  be  dying  a  natural  death. 
Preachers  taught  a  cold  morality.  Churchgoing  was 
ceasing  to  be  fashionable,  and  the  masses  of  the  people 
were  increasing  in  brutality,  ignorance,  and  drunkenness. 
ReHgion  was  saved  not  by  argument  but  by  men  dis- 
covering the  immediate  presence  of  God  in  saving  mercy 
in  their  own  hearts."^ 

These  revivals  marked  the  birth  of  Methodism,  as  well 
as  an  awakening  in  other  Protestant  churches  that  was 
to  lead  directly  to  the  missionary  enthusiasm  of  the 
present. 

The  Moravians'  Greatest  Convert 

We  have  seen  how  the  Moravians,  from  their  head- 
quarters in  Saxony,  sent  their  missionaries  to  many 
parts  of  the  world.  One  such  group  was  on  a  ship  that 
crossed  the  Atlantic,  carrying  pioneers  to  the  newly 
established  colony  of  Georgia,  in  the  year  1735. 

The  effect  of  a  storm. — Winter  on  the  Atlantic  is 


>A.  W.  Harrison,  The  Church  oj  Twenty  Centuries,  p.  i68. 

172 


METHODISM  BRINGS  NEW  ENERGY     173 

seldom  pleasant,  and  the  little  vessel  passed  through  at 
least  one  storm  when  all  but  the  Moravians  showed  their 
fear  of  death.  Among  the  other  passengers,  busily- 
engaged  with  his  duties  as  the  minister  of  the  Church  of 
England  for  this  group  of  colonists,  was  a  slight,  ascetic 
young  man  who  had  just  turned  his  back  on  the  Uni- 
versity of  Oxford,  lured  largely  by  the  prospect  of  preach- 
ing to  the  Indians.  The  calmness  of  the  Moravians 
during  the  storm  fascinated  him.  He  spent  hours  with 
them,  seeking  their  spiritual  secrets.  On  land  he  imme- 
diately sought  their  bishop,  intent  upon  further  ques- 
tionings. A  single  question  stopped  him :  *'Do  you  know 
Jesus  Christ?"  When  he  stammered,  "I  know  he  is  the 
Saviour  of  the  world,"  the  Moravian  inexorably  pressed 
him:  "True,  but  do  you  know  he  has  saved  you?" 

Epworth,  Oxford,  the  Holy  Club. — That  questioner 
was  John  Wesley,  and  behind  his  question  lay  years  of 
seeking  for  spiritual  certainty.  Born  in  the  Epworth 
rectory  in  1703,  John  Wesley  came  from  a  long  line  of 
eminent  ministers,  most  of  them  not  members  of  the 
Church  of  England.  His  father  was  a  man  of  scholarly 
tastes  who  devoted  a  lifetime  to  service  within  the 
establishment.  His  mother  must  rank  as  one  of  the 
remarkable  women  of  modern  times.  John  was  the 
fifteenth,  and  his  brother  Charles  the  eighteenth,  in  a 
family  of  nineteen  children.  From  early  childhood  the 
mother,  in  particular,  succeeded  in  impressing  her  spirit 
of  deep  religious  concern  upon  these  two  sons. 

Despite  the  poverty  of  the  family,  three  of  the  sons 
graduated  from  Oxford  University,  and  all  were  ordained 
in  the  Anglican  ministry.  Such  were  the  attainments  of 
John  that  he  was  elected  a  Fellow  of  Lincoln  College, 
Oxford.  While  in  the  university,  the  two  younger  Wesley 
brothers   became   deeply   concerned   as   to    their   own 


174     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

spiritual  condition,  and,  finding  a  few  other  students  in  a 
similar  state  of  mind,  formed  a  group  that  soon  came  to 
give  most  of  its  time  to  religious  studies  and  works  of 
philanthropy.  So  strict  were  those  in  this  circle  in  their 
manner  of  living  that  other  undergraduates  dubbed  them 
the  "Holy  Club,"  and  later,  "Methodists."  It  was  not 
the  first  time  that  a  nickname,  given  in  derision,  has  been 
adopted  and  become  of  marked  significance. 

The  Georgia  mission. — It  was  Charles  Wesley  who 
first  turned  the  steps  of  the  two  brothers  toward  America. 
Offered  a  position  as  a  sort  of  secretary  to  General 
Oglethorpe,  the  founder  of  Georgia,  he  secured  a  place 
as  a  missionary  for  his  brother.  Some  idea  of  the  culture 
of  John  Wesley  is  given  by  the  knowledge  that,  while  in 
Savannah,  he  conducted  services  in  German,  French,  and 
Italian,  as  well  as  in  English. 

The  work  of  the  two  Wesleys  in  Georgia  can  hardly 
be  recalled  as  a  success.  The  Indians  gave  no  evidence 
of  any  desire  to  listen  to  their  preaching.  The  colonists 
proved  intractable  under  the  extreme  high-church  usages 
of  the  two  brothers.  Finally  Charles  returned  to  Eng- 
land, soon  to  be  followed  by  his  brother.  Nor  had  the 
spiritual  restlessness  of  either  of  them  been  stilled  while 
in  the  New  World,  although  both  had  labored  to  the 
limit  of  their  strength. 

Wesley*s  conversion. — Once  back  in  England,  John 
Wesley  was  fortunate  to  fall  in  with  another  Moravian, 
who  was  stopping  over  in  London  while  on  his  way  to 
America.  Both  brothers  eagerly  sought  the  inner  spiritual 
satisfaction  which  this  Moravian,  Peter  Bohler,  taught 
might  belong  to  any  Christian.  Charles  obtained  it  first. 
Three  days  later  the  older  brother,  while  attending  a 
"society"  that  Bohler  had  organized  before  sailing, 
underwent  the  experience  that  has  meant  so  much  to 


METHODISM  BRINGS  NEW  ENERGY     175 

Christian  history.  Listening  to  the  reading  of  Luther's 
preface  to  his  Commentary  on  Romans,  Wesley  himself 
says:  "About  a  quarter  before  nine,  while  he  [Lutherl 
was  describing  the  change  which  God  works  in  the  heart 
through  faith  in  Christ,  I  felt  my  heart  strangely  warmed. 
I  felt  I  did  trust  in  Christ,  Christ  alone,  for  salvation; 
and  an  assurance  was  given  me  that  he  had  taken  away 
my  sins,  even  mine,  and  saved  me  from  the  law  of  sin 
and  death." 

The  Work  of  the  Wesleys  and  Whitefield 

After  a  short  period  spent  in  Germany  with  the 
Moravians,  John  Wesley  began  that  lifework  that  was  to 
have  such  a  transforming  effect  upon  English  society. 
In  it  he  was  assisted  from  the  first  by  his  brother,  and 
even  more  by  George  Whitefield,  one  of  the  greatest 
preachers,  judging  by  the  effects  of  his  sermons,  in  the 
history  of  the  church. 

A  new  kind  of  preaching. — Whitefield  had  been  a 
member  of  the  "Holy  Club"  at  Oxford.  To  him  religious 
certainty  and  power  had  come  soon  after  graduation,  and 
he  had  been  able  from  the  day  of  his  ordination  as  an 
Anghcan  minister,  while  still  scarcely  out  of  his  teens,  to 
pack  the  churches  of  London  with  those  who  were  eager 
to  hear  him.  A  successful  sojourn  in  Georgia  had  brought 
him  back  to  England  to  secure  funds  for  work  under- 
taken there,  only  to  hold  him  there  in  the  fervor  that 
his  evangelistic  preaching  evoked. 

Whitefield  invited  John  Wesley  to  preach  in  Bristol. 
Since,  by  this  time,  the  Wesley  brothers  were  barred 
from  most  London  pulpits  because  of  the  "enthusiasm" 
of  their  preaching,  John  Wesley  gladly  accepted  the  op- 
portunity. However,  he  found,  upon  arriving  in  Bristol, 
that  most  of  Whitefield 's  work  was  being  done  in  the 


176     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

open  air.  It  seemed  a  radical  departure  from  accepted 
methods,  but  after  a  brief  hesitation  Wesley  embraced  it, 
and  soon  proved,  in  London  as  well  as  Bristol,  a  field 
preacher  with  power  equal  to  that  of  Whitefield. 

It  was  no  new  message  that  these  preachers  brought. 
It  had  most  of  its  roots  in  the  teaching  of  Saint  Paul  and 
Luther.  Men  were  sinners,  deserving  condemnation  and 
punishment.  They  might  be  saved  by  an  act  of  faith  in 
Christ.  They  might  have  an  inner  knowledge  of  such 
salvation,  leading  to  a  joyful  Hfe.  If  they  persisted  in 
living  right  lives,  they  might  finally  come  so  under  the 
sway  of  right  motives — love  to  God  and  one's  fellows — 
that  they  could  be  said  to  have  obtained  perfection  in 
Christian  character.  Inner  reHgion  would  show  itself  in 
outreaching  forms  of  service.  This  was  the  message  that 
proved  able  to  transform  the  lives  of  hundreds  of 
thousands. 

The  organization  of  Methodism. — There  is  a  belief, 
generally  accepted,  that  John  Wesley  was  a  relative  of 
that  Arthur  Wellesley  who,  as  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
remains  the  greatest  soldier  of  modern  England.  Cer- 
tainly, he  had  many  of  the  characteristics  of  a  great 
general.  When  he  found  multitudes  swayed  by  his 
preaching  he  was  unwilling  to  let  them  work  out  their 
further  spiritual  career  without  assistance,  but  began  to 
gather  his  converts  in  "societies"  and  "bands"  for  mutual 
examination  and  encouragement. 

These  groups  were  not,  technically,  outside  the 
Anghcan  Church,  of  which  their  founder  remained  a 
minister.  But  there  was  little  place  given  them  within 
the  establishment,  and  gradually  they  became  more  and 
more  sufficient  to  themselves.  Finally,  a  passing  need 
led  Wesley  to  subdivide  them  into  "classes"  of  about  a 
dozen  each,  each  under  the  direction  of  a  "class-leader," 


METHODISM  BRINGS  NEW  ENERGY     177 

and  these,  while  furnishing  an  efficient  discipline,  served 
to  cut  almost  the  last  tie  with  the  Church  of  England. 

In  the  beginning  the  supervision  of  these  "societies" 
and  "classes"  was  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Wesleys, 
Whitefield,  and  the  handful  of  AngHcan  ministers  who 
supported  them.  Then  lay  preachers  began  to  appear  in 
the  ranks  of  the  converts.  At  first  the  Wesley  brothers 
would  have  discouraged  these,  but  their  aged  mother 
cautioned  against  such  a  course,  and  lay  preaching  soon 
became  one  of  Methodism's  distinctive  marks.  After 
many  years,  under  the  pressure  constantly  applied, 
Wesley,  who  had  become  convinced  that  in  the  ancient 
church  there  was  no  distinction  between  bishops  and 
other  ministers,  began  to  ordain  these  preachers.  Yet  he 
held  tenaciously  to  the  theory  that  he  and  his  followers 
were  acting  within  the  ranks  of  the  Anglican  church. 

The  spread  of  Methodism. — From  the  year  of  his 
spiritual  stirring  in  1738  until  his  death  in  1791,  John 
Wesley  was  constantly  on  the  go.  Up  and  down  the 
United  Kingdom  he  traveled,  at  first  on  horseback  and 
later  by  coach,  until  it  was  said  that  nobody  in  England 
had  ever  paid  as  many  toUs.  It  was  his  custom  to  preach 
every  morning  at  five;  once  again  before  noon;  again  in 
the  late  afternoon;  and  generally  again  at  night.  For  a 
time  he  had  an  able  lieutenant  in  his  brother  Charles,  but 
when  the  brother's  health  became  such  that  he  was 
forced  to  deliver  his  message  in  song,  other  stalwarts 
came  forward  to  man  that  "itinerancy"  that  has  been 
the  glory  of  the  Methodist  ministry. 

Whitefield  took  the  essential  message  of  Methodism 
back  to  America,  and  other  preachers,  as  we  shall  see, 
carrying  Wesley's  express  command,  traveled  throughout 
the  colonies  and  the  republic.  A  flourishing  Methodist 
community  sprang  up  in  Wales,  and  there  were  societies 


178     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

in  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  Holland.  By  the  time  Wesley 
died  there  were  more  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  thou- 
sand Methodists  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  and  one 
of  them,  Thomas  Coke,  an  Oxford  doctor  of  laws,  and 
the  man  chosen  to  be  the  founder's  representative  in 
setting  up  the  Methodist  Church  in  America,  had  died 
on  shipboard  and  been  buried  in  the  Red  Sea  as  he  sailed 
toward  Ceylon,  Methodism's  first  missionary  to  the 
Orient. 

Some  By-Products  of  Methodism 

Many  historians  and  political  students  have  given 
credit  to  Wesley  for  the  manner  in  which  he  "largely 
revolutionized  the  religious  condition  of  the  English 
lower  and  middle  classes,"  and  stabilized  Anglo-Saxon 
civilization  at  the  time  when  the  life  of  the  continent  had 
to  pass  through  the  upheaval  of  the  French  Revolution. 
But  there  were  other  effects  worth  noting.  Perhaps  we 
should  call  them  by-products. 

The  arousing  of  the  churches. — All  the  churches  of 
England  felt  the  stirring  of  the  Methodist  revival.  With- 
in and  without  the  establishment  men  began  to  preach 
with  a  warmth  that  brought  large  increases  in  member- 
ship to  most  of  the  churches.  The  power  of  this  preach- 
ing stirred  many  men  of  influence  who  never  came  within 
the  range  of  Wesley's  work  with  the  masses. 

The  quickening  of  a  social  conscience. — Many  of  the 
men  thus  touched  caught  a  sense  of  their  responsibility 
toward  their  fellows  that  led  to  various  philanthropic 
efforts.  So  William  Wilberforce  went  to  fight  slavery, 
until  the  trade  was  abolished  throughout  the  British 
Empire  in  1807,  and  all  slaves  freed  in  1833.  So  John 
Howard  began  the  crusade  for  prison  reform.  And  so 
Robert  Raikes  began  "the  first  systematic  and  successful 


METHODISM  BRINGS  NEW  ENERGY     179 

efforts  to  reach  the  poor  and  unschooled  with  a  Christian 
training  on  a  large  scale"  when  he  opened  the  first  Sun- 
day schools. 

The  impulse  to  foreign  missions. — But  even  more 
to  our  purpose  was  the  propulsion  given  Protestant  mis- 
sions by  the  work  of  the  Wesleys.  For  years  some  men 
of  vision  had  been  feeling  the  compulsion  to  preach  in 
non- Christian  lands.  At  the  very  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century  Isaac  Watts  wrote  one  of  the  greatest 
missionary  hymns: 

"Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun 
Doth  his  successive  journeys  run." 

Yet  it  needed  the  enthusiasm  of  the  evangelical  revival 
to  break  down  the  prejudice  of  the  masses  of  English 
Protestants,  and  make  it  possible  for  Wilham  Carey  to 
lead  in  the  organization  of  the  society  that  sent  him  as 
the  first  missionary  of  Anglo-Saxon  Protestantism  to 
India. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  Give  a  detailed  description  of  social  and  religious 
conditions  in  England  at  the  opening  of  the  eighteenth 
century. 

2.  Discuss  the  influence  of  heredity  as  shown  in  the 
case  of  the  Wesley  brothers. 

3.  What  can  you  discover  concerning  John  Wesley's 
experiences  in  America? 

4.  Give  a  brief  character  sketch  of  Whitefield;  of 
Charles  Wesley;  of  John  Wesley. 

5.  What  causes  contributed  most  to  the  success  of 
the  work  of  the  Wesleys? 

6.  Compare  in  importance  the  direct  and  indirect 
results  of  the  Methodist  revival. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

SPREADING  RELIGION  IN  AMERICA 

We  are  familiar  with  the  story  of  the  occupation  of 
what  is  now  the  United  States  of  America  by  white  men. 
Sometimes  we  forget  that  rehgious  interests  played  a 
dominating  part  in  that  great  migration.  Before  proceed- 
ing with  the  account  of  the  world-spread  of  Christianity 
it  is  necessary  to  recall  how  America  became  a  base  for 
that  spread. 

Religion  in  the  Colonies 

We  need  only  recount  the  general  aspects  of  the  groups 
that  planted  the  American  colonies  to  understand  the 
forms  of  worship  that  distinguished  them. 

The  settlement  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard. — 
In  general,  it  was  the  cavalier  who  settled  the  Southern 
colonies.  Even  the  settlements  in  Georgia,  composed  as 
they  were  of  persons  largely  recruited  from  the  ranks  of 
the  poor,  had  behind  them  such  an  aristocrat  as  General 
Oglethorpe.  So  it  happened  that  the  Southern  colonies 
provided  a  natural  home  for  the  forms  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  the  usages  of  that  church  were  about  as 
well  established  there  as  in  the  homeland. 

New  England,  as  we  know,  was  settled  by  the  Puritans, 
who  estabhshed  a  form  of  Congregationalism  that  was  as 
rigorous  in  its  efforts  to  control  the  life  of  the  colonies  as 
any  established  worship  in  the  world.  In  time  the  men 
of  New  England  largely  freed  themselves  from  political 
interference  by  their  churches,  but  it  was  not  until  1818 
in  Connecticut  and  until   1834  in  Massachusetts  that 

180 


SPREADING  RELIGION  IN  AMERICA     i8i 

Congregationalism  was  disestablished  and  men  relieved 
from  paying  taxes  for  its  support. 

Between  the  extremes  south  and  north  other  forms  of 
worship  found  root.  Three  of  the  intermediary  colonies 
were  estabhshed  directly  as  a  result  of  rehgious  scruples. 
One  was  Maryland,  planted  by  Lord  Baltimore  to  provide 
a  home  for  the  Roman  Catholics,  who  were  denied  full 
civil  and  rehgious  privileges  in  most  English  com- 
munities. Another  was  Pennsylvania,  where  William 
Penn  gave  the  Quakers  their  unmolested  home.  And 
then  there  was  Rhode  Island,  where  first  Roger  WiUiams 
and  after  him  the  Baptists  sought  freedom  from  what 
they  considered  the  tyranny  of  conscience  exercised  by 
the  Puritans  in  the  older  New  England  colonies.  AU 
these  colonies  provided  religious  liberty  for  their  settlers. 

The  other  colonies  in  the  center  of  the  country— New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Delaware — were  largely  commercial 
ventures,  and  took  upon  themselves  readily  the  forms  of 
the  Church  of  England,  with  tolerance  for  any  other 
mode  of  worship  that  might  be  desired.  In  New  York 
the  churches  left  by  the  original  Dutch  settlers  were  very 
strong.  In  New  Jersey  there  were  Presbyterian  congre- 
gations of  great  strength. 

Colleges  in  the  wilderness.— ^One  thing  distin- 
guished the  churches  of  the  colonies,  wherever  planted. 
They  were  determined  that  their  ministry  should  be  well 
educated.  The  whole  history  of  America  has  been  pro- 
foundly affected  by  the  devotion  of  the  pioneers  to  learn- 
ing. One  has  a  higher  respect  than  ever  for  those  first 
colonists  when  he  sees  them  pausing,  almost  before  they 
have  cleared  their  lands,  to  estabhsh  colleges. 

Sixteen  years  after  the  landing  at  Plymouth  the 
Puritan  ministers  of  Massachusetts  had  established 
Harvard  College.    Before  the  end  of  that  century  the 


i82     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Anglican  Church  had  founded  William  and  Mary.  In  the 
first  year  of  the  eighteenth  century  Yale  came  into  being 
to  supply  the  needs  of  the  Congregational  colony  of  New 
Haven.  Later  in  the  century  the  Presbyterians  were  to 
establish  Princeton,  the  Baptists  Brown,  and  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church  was  to  plant  what  is  now  Rutgers. 
In  fact,  examination  shows  that  it  was  the  churches  who 
were  responsible  for  that  large  place  given  to  popular 
education  that  has  been  so  distinctive  a  feature  of 
American  life. 

Colonial  Christianity. — Despite  the  early  fervor  that 
took  the  Pilgrims  to  New  England,  it  was  not  long  before 
their  worship,  because  it  was  so  cut  off  from  the  rest  of 
the  world,  became  a  hard,  dogmatic,  formal  affair.  In  the 
south,  as  John  Wesley  found  in  Georgia,  there  was  little 
zeal  for  rehgion.  Occasional  men,  as  we  have  seen  (see 
Chapter  XVIII),  were  ready  to  devote  themselves  to 
work  among  the  Indians.  But,  for  the  most  part,  the 
approach  of  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  saw 
religion  becoming  as  cold  an  affair  in  the  colonies  as  it 
had  become  in  the  mother  country. 

The  Great  Awakening 

This  condition  made  the  revival  that  took  place,  be- 
ginning with  the  preaching  of  Jonathan  Edwards  in  New 
England  in  1734,  and  continuing  about  ten  years, 
memorable  as  the  Great  Awakening. 

The  preaching  of  Whitefield. — It  was  in  this  move- 
ment that  the  power  of  George  Whitefield  was  most 
plainly  shown.  He  made  his  second  visit  to  America  in 
1740,  while  still  only  twenty-five  years  old.  He  found  the 
ground  broken  by  the  preaching  of  Edwards,  and  wher- 
ever he  went  remarkable  results  attended  his  preaching. 
"It  is  wonderful  to  see  what  a  spell  he  casts  over  an 


SPREADING  RELIGION  IN  AMERICA     183 

audience  by  proclaiming  the  simplest  truths  of  the 
gospel,"  wrote  Mrs.  Edwards.  "I  have  seen  upward  of 
a  thousand  people  hang  on  his  words  with  breathless 
silence,  broken  only  by  an  occasional,  half-suppressed 
sob.  He  impresses  the  ignorant,  and  not  less  the  half- 
educated  and  refined." 

Hundreds  were  permanently  changed  by  the  preaching 
of  Whitefield,  but  there  was  much  discussion  of  the  per- 
manency of  such  effort  and  many  divisions  in  the  ranks 
of  the  churches  resulted.  Before  he  died,  while  on  his 
seventh  visit  to  America  in  1773,  Whitefield  had  been 
able  to  dissipate  the  personal  antagonism  at  first  shown 
toward  him  by  the  conservative  leaders  in  such  schools 
as  Harvard  and  Yale.  But  also  by  that  time  the  fervor 
of  the  revival  had  died  down. 

Other  leaders  in  the  revival. — Besides  Jonathan 
Edwards,  the  Great  Awakening  brought  forward  other 
leaders.  Of  these  the  Tennants,  who  founded  the  Log 
College  in  New  Jersey  out  of  which  Princeton  grew,  were 
noted  for  even  greater  outbursts  of  emotion  than  marked 
the  preaching  of  Whitefield.  One  Anglican  wrote:  "After 
him  [Whitefield]  came  one  Tennent,  a  monster!  impudent 
and  noisy,  and  told  them  that  they  were  damn'd, 
damn'd,  damn'd;  this  charmed  them,  and  in  the  most 
dreadful  winter  I  ever  saw,  people  wallowed  in  the  snow 
night  and  day,  for  the  benefit  of  his  beastly  brayings,  and 
many  ended  their  lives  under  these  fatigues."^ 

After  the  Awakening. — Reaction  seems  inevitable 
after  such  a  general  stirring  up  of  the  emotions.  To  this 
was  soon  added,  in  the  colonies,  the  intrusion  of  political 
interests.  Before  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century 
the  colonists  had  few  poUtical  matters  of  large  concern  to 


'Quoted  by  Moncrief,  op.  cit.,  p.  414. 


i84     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

command  their  attention.  After  that  they  were  caught 
in  the  full  tide  of  events  that  began  with  the  capture  of 
Canada,  continued  with  the  agitation  over  taxes,  and 
culminated  in  the  Revolutionary  War  and  the  formation 
of  the  United  States  of  America.  And  during  aU  that 
period  of  struggle,  fine  as  were  the  goals  in  view,  the 
power  of  religion  steadily  declined.  By  the  end  of  the 
Revolutionary  War  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  coun- 
try was  deplorable. 

The  Days  of  the  CiRcuiT-RroERS 

The  young  republic  was  called  back  to  a  vital  religious 
life  very  largely  by  the  efforts  of  a  new  type  of  preacher 
— the  circuit-rider.  He  was  the  distinctive  gift  of 
Methodism  to  the  development  of  America. 

Methodism  enters  America. — It  was  not  long  be- 
fore men  who  had  been  kindled  by  the  fervor  of  the 
Methodist  revival  in  England  and  Ireland  began  to 
spread  the  same  message  in  America.  Ten  years  before 
the  signing  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  Methodist 
societies  came  into  existence  in  New  York  and  Maryland. 
By  1 77 1  the  growth  had  been  so  great  that  Wesley  sent 
over  a  young  man,  Francis  Asbury,  to  take  charge  of  the 
societies.  Asbury  was  assisted  by  quite  a  large  body  of 
lay  preachers.  They  divided  the  parishes  into  "circuits," 
as  had  been  done  in  England.  But  distances  differed  in 
the  colonies  and  in  Britain,  and  to  cover  their  circuits  the 
Methodist  preachers  found  it  necessary  to  travel  hun- 
dreds of  miles.  This  they  did  largely  on  horseback,  and 
thus  the  Methodist  circuit-rider,  pushing  his  way  along 
the  rough  roads  and  trails,  and  perhaps  studying  a  Greek 
Testament  as  he  rode,  became  a  familiar  figure  in  the 
most  outlying  settlements  of  those  times. 

The  Revolutionary  War  brought  the  work  of  Asbury 


SPREADING  RELIGION  IN  AMERICA     185 

and  his  helpers  to  a  temporary  stop.  John  Wesley  wrote 
a  tract  chiding  the  colonists  for  their  attitude  toward  the 
mother  country,  which  served  no  purpose  other  than  to 
draw  suspicion  upon  his  American  followers.  At  the  out- 
break of  fighting  many  of  the  preachers  returned  to 
England.  Asbury  stayed  on,  but  for  a  time  it  was  neces- 
sary for  him  to  go  into  hiding.  However,  long  before  the 
end  of  the  war  the  loyalty  of  the  Methodists  as  a  group 
had  been  proved,  and  Asbury  had  won  the  confidence  of 
the  American  leaders  to  such  an  extent  that  he  was  able 
to  resume  his  work  on  a  scale  even  larger  than  before  the 
break.  At  the  end  of  the  Revolution  the  Methodists 
found  they  had  seventy  preachers  and  twelve  thousand 
members  in  the  new  repubhc. 

Forward  with  the  pioneers. — This  very  growth 
proved  an  embarrassment.  In  the  mind  of  John  Wesley 
his  societies  had  always  been  thought  of  as  a  part  of  the 
Church  of  England.  But  during  the  Revolution  the 
Church  of  England  had  ceased  to  exist  in  America.  There 
was  no  way  by  which  these  Methodists  could  obtain 
the  sacraments,  and  they  became  insistent  that  their 
preachers  be  given  the  right  to  administer  them.  Wesley 
endeavored  to  secure  ordination  for  some  of  his  preachers 
by  bishops  of  the  Anglican  Church.  When  this  proved 
unsuccessful,  he  ordained  them  himself,  since  he  believed 
a  minister  had  as  much  right  to  do  this  as  a  bishop. 

Thomas  Coke  was  the  first  man  ordained  by  Wesley. 
He  came  to  America  and  ordained  Asbury.  The  two  then 
ordained  other  Methodist  preachers,  who  set  up  a  church 
independent  of  Wesley  in  England,  that  has  survived  to 
this  day  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  It  was  a 
church  of  pioneers.  Its  circuit-riders  followed  every  trail, 
crossing  the  mountains  into  Kentucky  with  Daniel 
Boone's  comrades,  pressing  into  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  the 


i86     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

other  States  of  the  Middle  West  as  fast  as  white  occupa- 
tion took  place. 

Asbury  himself  set  the  pace.  Until  he  died,  in  1816, 
he  lived  almost  constantly  in  the  saddle.  His  journeyings 
averaged  six  thousand  miles  a  year.  He  ordained  more 
than  four  thousand  preachers.  He  proved  an  organizer 
equal  to  Wesley,  and  he  combined  with  an  intense 
evangelistic  spirit  an  interest  in  education  that  made  for 
permanency  in  all  the  work  that  he  and  his  itinerant 
preachers  did.  "The  records  of  the  journeyings  and  toils 
of  the  Methodist  preachers  remind  one  vividly  of  the 
apostles  and  their  helpers,  and  of  the  perils  through 
which  they  passed  in  the  first  age  of  Christianity."^ 

The  influence  of  the  circuit-riders.^In  estimating 
the  effect  of  these  itinerants  upon  the  life  of  America 
mention  must  not  only  be  made  of  their  direct  labors, 
leading  as  those  did  to  the  gathering  of  the  most  numer- 
ous body  of  Christians  in  the  country.  Nor  can  attention 
be  confined  to  the  fervid  form  of  religious  experience  that, 
in  campmeeting  and  revival,  they  helped  to  make 
familiar  in  most  American  communities.  With  these 
must  be  reckoned  their  influence  upon  other  churches. 
For  from  this  time  comes  a  resurrection  of  energy  on  the 
part  of  all  the  communions  that  had  been  planted  before 
the  Revolution — the  Presbyterians,  the  Congregational- 
ists,  the  Baptists,  the  Lutherans,  the  Episcopahans,  the 
Catholics — which,  whether  it  expressed  itself  in  ways 
akin  to  those  used  by  the  Methodists,  or  in  other  means, 
was  to  lead  to  great  accessions.  And  other  denominations 
were  to  be  called  forth  by  the  same  period,  and  likewise 
were  to  affect  American  life.  But  of  all  this  we  will  treat 
at  more  length  in  another  chapter. 


»  Fisher,  op.  cil.,  p.  S78. 


SPREADING  RELIGION  IN  AMERICA     187 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  Was  religious  tolerance  characteristic  of  aU  the 
American  colonies?     What  colony  proved  most  tolerant? 

2.  What  do  you  mean  by  saying  that  Congregational- 
ism was  "established"  in  certain  parts  of  New  England? 

3.  Take  a  complete  list  of  the  colleges  of  America. 
How  many  of  them  owe  their  origin  to  some  branch  of 
the  Christian  Chiurch? 

4.  Why  should  a  period  of  struggle  for  mdependence 
prove  inimical  to  the  cause  of  religion  ? 

5.  Give  a  fuller  account  of  the  life  of  Asbury. 

6.  A  statue  of  Asbury,  as  the  typical  circuit-rider,  is 
being  erected  at  the  national  capital.     Why? 


CHAPTER  XXII 

CHRISTIANITY  IN  MODERN  INDIA 

Legend  maintains  that  the  gospel  was  first  carried  into 
India  by  Saint  Thomas,  one  of  the  apostles.  Early- 
travelers,  such  as  Marco  Polo,  have  left  historical 
evidence  of  the  presence  of  Nestorian  Christians  in  that 
country  centuries  ago.  We  have  already  seen  how  Saint 
Francis  Xavier,  and  after  him  other  Jesuits,  planted 
Catholicism  about  the  Portuguese  settlements  on  the  coast 
in  the  sixteenth  century  (see  Chapter  XIV).  And  we  have 
seen  the  beginning  of  Protestant  work  under  the  Danish 
missions  of  the  eighteenth  century  (see  Chapter  XIX). 
But  it  was  not  until  the  nineteenth  century  that  Chris- 
tianity began  vitally  to  affect  the  life  of  India. 

Carey  and  the  Pioneers 

To  understand  the  way  in  which  Protestant  missions 
gained  their  foothold  in  India  it  is  necessary  to  recall  the 
peculiar  manner  in  which  that  empire  came  under 
western  rule. 

The  British  East  India  Company. — The  Portuguese 
were  the  first  Europeans  to  reach  India,  but  they  were 
soon  followed  by  the  Dutch,  French,  Enghsh,  and  Danes. 
British  interests  were  mainly  in  the  extension  of  trade, 
and  were  represented  by  the  British  East  India  Company, 
chartered  in  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  given 
extraordinary  powers  whereby  it  not  only  held  a  mo- 
nopoly of  the  Far  Eastern  trade  of  England,  but  was  also 
given  what  amounted  to  the  right  to  govern  politically. 

In  India  the  empire  of  the  Moguls  disintegrated  rapidly 

1 88 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  MODERN  INDIA     189 

after  the  seventeenth  century.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
ambition  and  power  of  the  British  and  French  increased. 
Finally,  at  the  same  time  Britain  was  expelling  France 
from  Canada,  the  British,  led  by  CHve,  defeated  the 
French  at  the  battle  of  Plassey,  and  so  achieved  virtual 
control  of  India.  But  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  it  was 
the  British  East  India  Company  that  won  the  victory, 
rather  than  Great  Britain  as  a  government.  And  it  was 
the  British  East  India  Company  that  took  up  the  rule  of 
India,  and  maintained  it  for  more  than  a  century. 

The  British  East  India  Company  proved  itself  an  en- 
lightened despotism  in  its  rule.  Its  officers  were,  on  the 
whole,  men  of  character,  who  did  what  they  honestly 
thought  was  for  the  best  interests  of  the  people,  provided 
that  the  profits  of  the  Company  were  not  lessened. 
Abuses  of  power  were  frequent,  but  Warren  Hastings, 
the  greatest  of  the  Company's  governors,  was  telling  the 
truth  when  at  his  trial  he  declared  that  in  the  light  of 
the  opportunities  to  amass  wealth  that  had  been  his  he 
marveled  at  his  moderation !  So  absolute  was  this  rule, 
carried  on  at  a  distance  from  England  and  with  only  in- 
direct checks  from  the  British  government,  that  it  was 
necessary  for  any  one  who  would  enter  the  country, 
whether  as  a  missionary  or  otherwise,  to  obtain  the  con- 
sent of  the  Company. 

William  Carey. — In  the  closing  years  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  the  reports  of  the  voyages  of  Captain 
Cook  (see  Chapter  XXVIII)  aroused  a  humble  Baptist 
preacher  in  England,  who  supported  himself  by  working 
as  a  cobbler,  to  write  several  pamphlets  and  deliver 
several  sermons  designed  to  move  his  fellow  Baptists  to 
engage  in  missionary  work  in  the  islands  Cook  had 
opened.  The  formation  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society 
of  England  was  the  result,  and  the  cobbler-preacher, 


190     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

known  as  the  father  of  Protestant  Anglo-Saxon  missions, 
William  Carey,  was  sent  out  as  the  first  missionary,  sus- 
tained by  his  famous  motto:  "Attempt  great  things  for 
God;  expect  great  things  from  God." 

India,  and  not  the  South  Seas,  was  the  territory  in 
which  the  Baptist  society  resolved  to  begin  its  work.  The 
East  India  Company  did  its  best  to  discourage  Carey's 
coming,  for  it  feared  the  political  effect  of  work  to  im- 
prove the  condition  of  the  natives.  But  when  Carey 
actually  landed,  and  proved  his  ability  to  support  him- 
self and  master  the  native  languages,  the  authorities 
perceived  how  valuable  a  man  he  might  be.  When  the 
Company  founded  a  college  at  Calcutta,  Carey  became 
professor  of  Sanskrit,  Bengali,  and  Marathi.  He  held  the 
chair  for  thirty  years. 

The  cobbler-missionary  proved  to  be  a  marvelous 
linguist.  Missions  in  India  are  to  this  day  hindered  by 
the  multiplicity  of  languages  and  dialects,  of  which  there 
are  more  than  a  hundred.  Carey  sufficiently  mastered 
twenty-four  of  these  to  translate  the  Bible,  or  parts  of 
the  Bible,  into  them.  He  early  realized  that  the  size  of 
the  task  precluded  hope  of  converting  the  entire  empire 
through  the  preaching  of  foreigners,  and  concentrated 
most  of  his  attention  on  the  training  of  native  workers. 
He  was  an  unfailing  advocate  of  various  social  reforms, 
chief  among  them  the  abolition  of  suttee,  the  ancient 
practice  by  which  widows  are  burned  on  the  funeral 
pyres  of  their  husbands. 

Alexander  Duff. — Four  years  before  Carey  died,  in 
1834,  there  came  to  India  the  first  missionary  of  the 
Established  Church  of  Scotland,  Alexander  Duff.  A 
university  graduate  whose  scholarship  would  have  been 
acknowledged  in  any  circle,  Duff  gave  to  Indian  mis- 
sions the  ideal  of  education  as  a  mode  of  approach  to  the 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  MODERN  INDIA     191 

masses  of  that  country.  Schools  were  founded  in  large 
numbers,  for  which  the  East  India  Company  proved 
ready  to  provide  most  of  the  funds,  in  which  education 
was  provided,  especially  for  children  of  the  higher  classes. 
Most  of  the  instruction  was  in  English,  and  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  the  success  of  Duff's  schools  has  fixed  this 
feature  of  the  higher  educational  system  of  India  to 
this  day. 

The  mutiny. — Long  before  Duff,  American  mission- 
aries had  begun  to  arrive  in  India.  Turned  back  from 
the  territory  of  the  Company,  because  they  arrived  while 
America  and  Britain  were  at  war,  the  American  pioneers 
went  to  Ceylon  and  Bombay.  Work  in  Burma,  which 
was  then  independent  of  India,  was  started  by  Judson, 
one  of  the  greatest  of  American  missionaries.  Other 
American  missions  were  planted  in  India  as  the  pohcy 
of  the  Company  became  more  liberal. 

In  1857  long-smoldering  discontent  on  the  part  of 
certain  groups  of  the  natives  led  to  the  revolt  of  the 
Sepoys,  part  of  the  Indian  troops  in  the  army  main- 
tained by  the  Company.  After  some  horrible  butcherings 
the  mutiny  was  wiped  out  in  blood,  but  its  recollection 
has  had  a  profound  effect  on  British  policy  since  that 
time.  It  was  realized  that  the  point  had  been  reached  at 
which  the  Company  could  not  successfully  govern  so 
huge  a  population  and  territory.  The  immediate  result 
of  the  mutiny  was,  therefore,  the  revocation  of  the  Com- 
pany's charter  and  the  taking  over  of  the  empire  by  the 
British  government,  with  the  British  queen  proclaimed 
as  empress. 

Christian  Effort  Since  the  Mutiny 

Christian  missions  suffered  dreadfully  during  the 
mutiny.    Not  only  were  many  missionaries  killed,  but 


192     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

hundreds  of  their  converts,  accused  of  treason  in  accept- 
ing the  foreigner's  religion,  suffered  martyrdom.  Yet 
this  suffering  served  to  call  forth  even  greater  efforts  than 
in  the  past.  Numbers  of  British  and  American  mis- 
sionary societies  that  had  not  previously  been  interested 
poured  their  representatives  into  the  country.  Forms  of 
work  that  had  scarcely  been  tried  before  were  now 
pushed  on  a  large  scale. 

Types  of  missionary  work. — The  foundation  of  the 
work  was  still  evangelistic.  Great  numbers  of  Indian 
preachers  worked  side  by  side  with  men  from  overseas  in 
vocal  proclamation  of  the  Christian  message.  In  fact, 
the  greater  part  of  this  work  came  to  be  done  by  natives, 
while  the  foreigners  were  employed  increasingly  as  super- 
visors of  the  forces. 

More  and  more  attention  was  given  to  the  educational 
approach.  Not  only  were  colleges  established — there  are 
nineteen  degree-giving  institutions  under  Protestant 
auspices  in  India  to-day — but  elementary  education  was 
provided  on  such  a  scale  that  it  is  possible  to  report: 
"The  missions  are  far  in  advance  of  the  government.  .  .  . 
Until  quite  recently  the  only  schools  for  women  were 
mission  schools.  To  this  day,  despite  the  excellency  of 
the  government  schools  in  which  strict  religious  neutrality 
prevails,  and  despite  the  founding  of  private  schools  for 
both  sexes  and  all  classes,  .  .  .  many  pupils  from  non- 
Christian  famihes  attend  the  mission  schools.  They 
acknowledge  that  what  they  seek  is  the  moral  Ufe  and 
religious  atmosphere  of  these  schools."^ 

Of  great  value  was  the  industrial  education  developed 
for  multitudes.  India  is  dominantly  agricultural,  with 
nine  tenths  of  her  people  at  work  on  the  land.    Her 


>  E.  C.  Moore,  The  Spread  of  Christianity  in  the  Modern  World,  University  of 
Chicago  Press,  publishers,  p.  134. 


K   o 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  MODERN  INDIA     193 

craftsmen  have  proved  through  generations  their  sur- 
passing skiU.  It  has  been  the  good  fortune  of  the  missions 
to  be  largely  used  by  the  goverimient  in  various  methods 
of  education  whereby  the  productivity  of  both  farmer 
and  artisan  has  been  increased. 

Medical  missions  have  greatly  increased  in  India 
since  the  mutiny.  There  is  no  quicker  way  of  winning 
the  confidence  of  a  people  than  by  heahng  their  sick- 
nesses, as  multitudes  of  devoted  missionary-physicians 
have  demonstrated. 

Attention  was  also  secured  by  a  large  use  of  literature. 
The  education  of  so  many  offered  a  great  market  for 
books  and  periodicals  in  India,  which  publishers  began 
to  develop  intensively.  In  the  years  succeeding  the 
mutiny  the  missions  entered  the  same  field,  and  have 
planted  India  deep  with  a  Christian  literature  of  devo- 
tion and  argument  that  has  exercised  a  profound  effect 
on  the  thinking  of  that  country. 

Results  of  Christian  missions  in  India. — The  early 
Jesuit  missionaries  claimed  results  for  their  labors  which 
can  only  be  accepted  on  the  basis  of  a  superficial  work. 
By  the  time  when  Protestant  work  began  in  India  the 
Catholic  community  had  fallen  to  a  low  level,  both  in 
size  and  spirituaHty.  It  was  a  long  time  before  large 
accessions  began  to  be  made  to  the  Protestant  churches, 
but  during  recent  years  they  have  grown  much  more 
rapidly  than  the  population.  In  the  decade  from  1901 
to  191 1  the  population  of  India  increased  6.4%.  At  the 
same  time  the  number  of  Christians  increased  by  34-2%, 
or  five  times  as  fast  as  the  population.  The  total  number 
of  church  members,  not  counting  foreigners,  was  shown 
by  the  government  census  of  191 1  to  be  3,574,770. 

At  the  present  the  missions  are  perplexed  by  the  mass 
movements   that   are   influencing   whole   communities. 


194     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

especially  of  the  lowest  castes,  to  seek  Christian  baptism. 
Social  motives  enter  largely  into  these  movements, 
whereby  villages  vote  to  become  Christian,  and  then,  led 
by  their  headmen,  seek  out  the  missionary.  Protestant- 
ism always  has  held  back  from  such  movements  en  masse, 
waiting  until  the  individual  has  given  evidence  of  a 
certain  amount  of  Christian  knowledge  and  experience 
on  his  own  part.  But  the  challenge  presented  by  these 
multitudes,  who  number  at  least  a  million  people  and 
will  increase  if  encouraged,  is  not  one  from  which  the 
missionaries  can  lightly  turn  away. 

A  final  development  characteristic  of  Protestantism  in 
India  since  the  mutiny  has  been  the  growth  of  a  native 
indigenous  church.  In  the  beginning,  and  to  a  large 
extent  still,  the  work  of  the  missionaries  has  been  among 
the  poor.  These  proved  willing  to  order  their  lives  in 
strict  accord  with  the  denominational  distinctions  and 
details  of  practice  enjoined  by  the  missionaries.  Now 
this  is  changing.  Men  of  a  higher  type  are  accepting  the 
fearful  social  penalty  that  it  frequently  entails  to  become 
a  Christian  openly,  but  are  at  the  same  time  providing 
leaders  for  the  Indian  Christians  who  are  increasingly 
taking  over  the  control  of  the  Christian  movement.  This 
is  a  tendency  that  is  bound  to  increase  until  the  day 
comes  when  foreign  missionaries  are  superfluous,  and 
Indian  Christianity  orders  and  maintains  its  own  life. 

By-Products  of  Christianity  in  India 

Many  of  the  most  significant  effects  of  Christianity  in 
India  are  to  be  seen  outside  the  acknowledged  Christian 
community. 

The  breakdown  of  caste. — India's  most  stagnating 
social  custom  has  been  her  caste  system,  whereby  men 
are  born  into  certain  places  in  the  social  order  from  which 


CHRISTIANITY  IN  MODERN  INDIA     195 

it  is  impossible  for  them  to  move.  The  attack  that  Chris- 
tian teaching,  with  its  doctrine  of  human  equahty  before 
God,  is  bound  to  make  on  such  a  conception  is  clear.  It 
must  not  be  thought  that  Christianity  has  been  alone 
in  working  to  overcome  caste.  Many  agencies,  notably 
the  promiscuous  travel  on  the  railroads,  have  worked  to 
the  same  end.  But  Christianity  has  borne  its  part,  and 
the  bands  of  caste  are  at  least  loosening,  if  they  are  not 
breaking,  in  India  to-day. 

The  reform  of  Hinduism. — Equally  significant  is  the 
restlessness  within  Hinduism  itself.  Several  centuries  be- 
fore Christ,  Buddhism  arose  in  India  to  reform  the 
religious  life  of  the  country.  But  Buddhism  was  itself 
absorbed  back  into  Hinduism,  which  went  on  its  way 
without  self-examination  until  the  challenge  of  Chris- 
tianity's monotheism  and  ethical  requirements  began  to 
make  itself  felt.  Popular  Hinduism,  with  its  debasing 
and  idolatrous  customs,  could  not  well  undergo  that 
challenge.  As  a  result,  any  number  of  reform  movements 
have  appeared  within  Hinduism  in  the  last  few  decades. 
Many  of  these  seek  a  sort  of  a  combination  of  the  good 
elements  of  all  religions,  and  represent  a  high  level  of 
thought.  The  trouble  is  that  they  are  mostly  just  that — 
systems  of  thought — without  that  fervor  of  spirit  which 
is  needed  to  move  the  multitudes. 

The  awakening  of  national  pride. — India  is  in  the 
full  tide  of  an  awakened  self-consciousness.  She  has 
demanded,  and  obtained,  from  the  British  Empire  the 
first  measure  of  self-government,  but  she  presses  on  to- 
ward a  status  as  a  self-governing  commonwealth,  if  not 
complete  independence.  The  sacrifices  she  made  in  the 
World  War,  when  she  sent  seven  hundred  thousand  men 
to  the  front,  have  earned  for  her  claims  the  deepest 
consideration  on  the  part  of  the  British.    Many  Indian 


196     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

leaders  would  deny  that  Christianity  has  contributed  to 
this  movement  for  Indian  freedom.  But  the  nature  of 
the  Christian  gospel  is  such  that  it  is  impossible  to  intro- 
duce it  in  any  society  without  the  birth  of  a  spirit  of 
self-respect,  which  leads  inevitably  to  just  such  a  move- 
ment as  now  possesses  India. 

India  To-morrow 

One  Indian  in  every  eighty-six  is  to-day  a  Christian. 
That  proportion  will  constantly  be  changing  as  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  waiting  outside  the  doors  of  the 
churches  are  instructed  and  baptized.  It  is  not  too  much 
to  hope  that,  a  century  hence,  when  India  has  taken  her 
place  in  the  ranks  of  the  world's  great  self-governing 
nations,  she  will  acknowledge  as  a  dominating  influence 
in  her  life  the  presence  of  an  Indian  Christian  Church, 
Indian  in  thought,  Indian  in  control,  yet  Christian  in  all 
its  effects. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  How  did  the  British  East  India  Company  help  the 
spread  of  Christianity  in  India?     How  hinder? 

2.  What  resemblances  did  the  work  of  Carey  hold 
to  that  of  other  pioneer  missionaries  of  whom  we  have 
studied? 

3.  Has  the  church  to  which  you  belong  a  mission  in 
India?     When  was  it  established  and  by  whom? 

4.  Give  an  extended  discussion  of  the  caste  system 
of  India.  In  what  way  has  this  system  affected  Chris- 
tian missions? 

5.  How  might  industrial  education  be  used  to  for- 
ward the  Christian  enterprise  in  such  a  country  as  India? 

6.  Give  an  outline  of  the  present  political  situation  in 
India.     What  relation,  if  any,  has  this  to  Christianity? 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

CHINA  AND  CHRISTIANITY 

China  stands  to-day  in  the  focus  of  world  attention. 
Politically,  her  future  is  regarded  as  of  vast  import  to  the 
rest  of  the  nations.  And  religiously  she  presents  Chris- 
tianity with  a  great  challenge  and  a  great  opportunity. 
She  is  open  just  now  to  the  Christian  message  as  is 
perhaps  no  other  large  non-Christian  country.  If  she 
accepts  it,  her  adherence  is  bound  profoundly  to  affect 
all  future  history. 

The  Problem  of  China 

When  the  first  Protestant  missionary  began  his  work 
in  China  he  said  that  he  doubted  if,  after  a  century  of 
effort,  there  would  be  a  thousand  Christians  in  the  coun- 
try. Such  pessimism  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  in  view  of 
the  difficulties  the  task  presented. 

China's  size. — China  Proper,  as  the  eighteen  princi- 
pal provinces  are  known,  is  not  much  larger  than  the 
United  States.  But  in  this  territory  there  lives  almost  a 
quarter  of  the  entire  human  race.  If  you  include  the 
outlying  provinces  in  your  reckoning,  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
in  converting  China  you  undertake  to  convert  more  than 
twice  as  many  people  as  there  are  in  all  the  Protestant 
churches  in  the  world.  In  mere  size  China  presents  the 
hardest  task  that  has  ever  loomed  before  Christianity. 

China's  conservatism. — China's  people  are  noted  for 
their  conservatism.  Until  very  recent  times  they  have 
not  welcomed  change.  They  were  cut  off  for  centuries 
from  the  rest  of  the  world,  so  that  their  living  and  think- 

197 


198     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

ing  formed  the  habit  of  proceeding  in  certain  grooves 
from  which  they  cannot  be  easily  moved.  It  is  no  small 
thing  to  change  the  customs  of  four  millenniums,  espe- 
cially when  they  are  embraced  by  so  many  people.  The 
attempt  of  one  emperor  to  introduce  reforms  as  recently 
as  1898  brought  a  total  loss  of  power  upon  him. 

China's  religions. — China  had  her  worships  when 
Christianity  came  seeking  entrance.  There  was  the 
animism  that  filled  the  country  with  spirits,  most  of  them 
malignant,  and  that  made  the  religion  of  millions  mainly 
an  attempt  to  placate  these  bearers  of  ill-fortune.  There 
was  the  Taoism,  that  had  degenerated  from  a  high- 
minded  effort  to  live  in  accord  with  the  universe,  as 
taught  by  Lao-tze,  to  a  mere  necromancy  and  jumble  of 
superstitious  rites,  aimed  to  ward  off  these  same  evil 
spirits.  There  was  the  Buddhism,  that  had  been  brought 
from  India  in  the  first  Christian  century,  promising  peace 
from  the  ills  of  this  world,  winning  the  allegiance  of  many 
thousands,  but  likewise  showing  signs  of  decay.  And 
there  was  the  Confucianism,  really  no  religion  at  all,  but 
a  great  system  of  philosophy,  yet  twisted  in  these 
twenty-five  centuries  since  the  death  of  Confucius  to 
yield  a  form  of  worship  to  that  great  sage.  And  the 
presence  of  all  these,  together  with  that  yearly  worship 
of  heaven  performed  by  the  Emperor  for  the  entire 
nation,  proved  another  barrier  in  Christianity's  way. 

The  First  Approaches  to  China 

Because  Protestants  have  come  so  recently  to  China 
we  are  apt  to  forget  the  long  centuries  of  effort  to  open 
up  that  land  by  other  Christian  forces.  But  the  Chinese 
had  a  way  of  carving  their  records  on  slabs  that  endure, 
and  so  we  know  that  there  were  Nestorian  Christians  in 
China  by  the  middle  of  the  seventh  century.  Franciscans 


CHINA  AND  CHRISTIANITY  199 

reached  Peking  before  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
and  one  of  their  bishops  was  executed  there  in  1362.  But 
these  efforts  came  to  nothing. 

The  Catholic  missions. — The  real  start  of  CathoUc 
work  in  China  came  toward  the  close  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  when,  after  Xavier's  heartbroken  death  off  the 
closed  coast  of  South  China,  another  Jesuit,  Matteo 
Ricci,  reached  Canton.  Ricci  pressed  north  to  Peking, 
where,  having  made  a  reputation  for  himself  as  a  scholar, 
he  was  given  a  place  at  the  court.  When  one  remembers 
the  difficulty  of  the  Chinese  language,  which  is  much 
greater  in  its  literary  than  in  its  spoken  form,  the  mag- 
nitude of  Ricci 's  scholastic  achievements  is  clear.  He  left 
the  Catholic  work  in  a  position  of  great  promise  when 
he  died. 

Encouraged  by  the  reports  of  Jesuit  success,  the 
Franciscans  and  Dominicans  soon  entered  the  country. 
And  it  is  a  strange  commentary  on  the  jealousies  that 
often  arise  within  the  Christian  communion  and  thus 
hinder  the  work  that,  from  that  day  to  this,  the  various 
Catholic  orders  working  in  China  have  so  sought  to 
thwart  one  another  that  they  have  proved  their  own 
worst  enemies.  Early  in  the  eighteenth  century  the 
Dominicans  managed  to  get  the  Jesuits  mixed  up  in  a 
dispute  with  the  Pope  as  to  the  translation  of  certain 
terms  and  the  meaning  of  certain  rites,  and  when  the 
pontiff  decided  in  a  manner  adverse  to  a  previous  de- 
cision by  the  Chinese  emperor,  that  ruler,  alarmed  at  the 
power  of  this  unseen  foreigner  in  far-off  Italy,  suppressed 
all  Catholic  missions. 

Although  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  Catholic  work 
was  wiped  out,  some  priests  managed  to  stay  within  the 
country,  and  converts  remained  when  churches  had  been 
destroyed.   The  Catholic  work  revived  rapidly  after  the 


200     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

country  had  been  opened,  following  the  wars  with  the 
EngHsh  and  French  in  the  nineteenth  century.  The 
French  Jesuits  have  again  gathered  large  congregations, 
and  there  are  considerable  numbers  under  the  training 
of  Spanish  and  German  fathers.  There  are  about 
two  thousand  five  hundred  priests,  of  whom  almost  a 
half  are  Chinese,  and  two  million  communicants. 

The  Protestant  pioneers. — The  first  Protestant  mis- 
sionary landed  in  Canton  in  1807.  His  name  was  Robert 
Morrison,  and  he  came  as  a  representative  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society.  Because  of  EngHsh  hostility,  he  was 
forced  to  make  his  voyage  in  an  American  vessel.  Mor- 
rison found  it  impossible  to  preach,  so  gave  himself  to 
mastering  the  language  and  translating  the  Scriptures. 
It  took  him  seven  years  to  win  his  first  convert,  and 
when  he  died,  in  1834,  there  had  been  just  ten  Chinese 
baptized  by  all  the  Protestant  workers  in  the  country! 
No  wonder  he  made  the  prophecy  we  have  already 
quoted. 

In  the  year  Morrison  died  the  first  American  mission- 
ary was  appointed  to  China  in  Peter  Parker.  He  "opened 
China  at  the  point  of  the  lancet,"  for  he  was  a  doctor, 
and  the  hospital  he  founded  in  Canton  proved  the  enter- 
ing wedge  in  that  long  history  of  medical  work  that  has 
done  so  much  to  relieve  suffering,  remove  prejudice,  and 
open  the  way  for  other  Christian  service. 

Growth  of  the  Christian  Movement 

To  understand  Christian  missions  in  China  it  is  neces- 
sary to  study  the  political  history  of  the  country  since  it 
began  to  have  contact  with  Western  nations,  so  that  it 
will  appear  how  such  wars  as  those  waged  by  Britain  and 
France  served  to  open  new  fields  for  work.  But  when  we 
remember  the  causes  for  which  those  wars  were  waged 


CHINA  AND  CHRISTIANITY  201 

and  the  way  in  which  China,  at  their  conclusion,  was 
mulcted,  we  cannot  wonder  that  the  Chinese  held  back 
from  accepting  a  religion  pressed  upon  them  in  such  a 
fashion. 

Before  the  Boxer  year. — During  generations  the 
growth  of  the  Protestant  missions  was  very  slow.  Suc- 
ceeding treaties  gave  missionaries,  with  other  foreigners, 
the  right  to  reside  in  certain  cities,  and  these  were  grad- 
ually pushed  inland.  But  there  were  as  degrading 
foreign  forces  in  these  cities  as  there  were  uphfting.  As 
late  as  1877  there  were  only  thirteen  thousand  Protestant 
converts  in  all  China. 

The  most  romantic  phase  of  Protestant  work  during 
this  period  was  the  formation  of  the  China  Inland 
Mission  by  Hudson  Taylor.  About  the  time  of  the 
American  Civil  War  Mr.  Taylor  challenged  believers  in 
an  evangelical  faith  to  leave  the  shelter  of  the  foreign 
settlements  and  push  into  the  interior,  trusting  in  the 
Lord  for  protection,  food,  and  the  opportunity  to  preach. 
Hundreds  of  devoted  Christians,  from  many  countries 
and  many  communions,  accepted  that  challenge,  and  the 
China  Inland  Mission  has,  to  this  day,  the  largest  mis- 
sion force  in  the  land.  Its  work  has  been  largely  confined 
to  the  vocal  proclamation  of  the  gospel,  so  that  it  has  not 
built  as  large  Christian  coimnunities  as  some  other  mis- 
sions. But,  as  pioneers,  the  workers  of  the  China  Inland 
Mission  have  been  unequaled. 

The  Boxer  year. — Slowly  the  exasperation  of  the 
Chinese  at  the  despoliation  of  their  country  by  the 
foreign  powers  had  been  mounting.  In  the  year  1900  this 
reached  a  crisis  when  a  general  uprising  in  North  China, 
led  by  the  Society  of  Righteous  Fists  (mistranslated, 
"Boxers"),  tried  to  exterminate  all  men  from  abroad,  and 
make  it  possible  for  China  to  go  back  to  her  old  modes 


202     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

of  living.  This  uprising  was  not  primarily  aimed  against 
Christianity,  but  because  Christianity  was  the  foreigners' 
religion  it  suffered  horribly.  One  hundred  and  thirty-five 
Protestant  missionaries,  fifty-eight  children  in  mission- 
aries' families,  thirty-five  Roman  Catholic  priests  and 
nine  sisters  were  martyred.  Even  worse  was  the  fate 
that  befell  the  Chinese  Christians  who  were  thought  to 
have  betrayed  their  country  in  accepting  foreign  re- 
ligion. Although  a  chance  to  recant  and  Hve  was  offered 
many,  sixteen  thousand  died,  frequently  after  fearful 
torture.  In  Peking,  groups  of  foreigners  and  Chinese 
Christians  were  besieged  for  almost  two  months  before 
the  arrival  of  a  rehef  column  brought  the  summer  of 
madness  to  an  end. 

Since  the  Boxer  year. — Heavy  punishment  was  laid 
upon  China  for  the  terrible  deeds  of  the  Boxer  uprising, 
but  in  centuries  to  come  the  historian  may  conclude  that 
it  was  worth  all  the  suffering  because  of  the  immediate 
and  complete  transformation  that  it  produced.  Over- 
night the  Chinese  began  to  clamor  for  the  Western  in- 
struction and  methods  of  industry  they  had  previously 
despised.  Mission  schools  were  crowded;  the  churches, 
with  the  sincerity  of  previous  converts  proved  by  their 
blood,  multiplied  at  an  amazing  rate. 

In  1907,  a  hundred  years  after  Morrison  and  only 
seven  after  the  Boxer  uprising,  there  were  almost  10,000 
Chinese  Christian  preachers  and  178,000  Protestant 
communicant  members.  The  overthrow  of  the  Manchus, 
that  came  in  191 1,  added  fresh  impetus  to  the  movement, 
and  the  latest  statistics  (those  for  191 9)  show  that  there 
are  344,974  communicants  and  617,194  more  under 
instruction,  many  of  them  baptized,  in  the  Protestant 
churches.  In  addition  to  these,  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  has  made  a  great  appeal  to  the  Chinese, 


CHINA  AND  CHRISTIANITY  203 

and  although  it  is  only  about  twenty-five  years  old,  can 
report  a  membership  of  70,000  in  its  various  branches. 
Almost  every  estabhshed  mission  in  China  to-day  is 
embarrassed  by  the  number  of  those  who  seek  member- 
ship, for  it  is  the  general  policy  not  to  admit  those  who 
cannot  be  properly  trained. 

Features  of  the  Christian  Movement 

We  have  space  to  mention  only  three  distinctive 
features  of  present  day  Christianity  in  China. 

Cooperation. — The  Protestant  forces  long  ago,  in  view 
of  the  size  of  their  field,  adopted  a  grand  strategy  where- 
by they  seek  to  guard  against  overlapping  in  some 
sections  to  the  neglect  of  others.  Moreover,  in  facing 
certain  great  problems,  they  have  resolved  to  pool  their 
strength  rather  than  attempt  the  impossible  single- 
handed.  An  example  is  given  by  the  union  universities, 
where  the  Christians,  seeking  to  establish  schools  that 
shall  set  the  pace  in  higher  education  for  all  China,  are 
combining  to  conduct  a  few  great  institutions,  rather 
than  remaining  separate  to  carry  on  struggling  colleges. 
Union  schools,  union  hospitals,  union  presses,  all  feature 
the  Protestant  effort  in  China  to-day. 

Influence. — We  have  spoken  of  the  rapid  growth  of 
the  Christian  community.  Yet  viewed  in  proportion  to 
the  total  number  of  Chinese,  we  see  how  small  a  part  of 
the  population  is  yet  Christian.  Nevertheless,  it  is 
amazing  to  see  the  influence  wielded  by  this  com- 
paratively small  group  of  Christians.  Many  of  the 
leaders  of  the  revolution  that  overthrew  the  Manchus 
were  Christians.  Sixty  members  of  the  first  permanent 
Parliament  of  the  republic  were  Christians.  Leaders  in 
education,  in  politics,  in  business  are  Christians.  And 
many  leaders  who  are  not  avowed    Christians  are  the 


204     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

product  of  Christian  schools  and  give  evidence  of  Chris- 
tian influence  in  their  lives.  Chinese  Christians  are 
exercising  an  influence  out  of  all  proportion  to  their  num- 
bers in  the  making  of  the  new  republic. 

The  growing  church. — Equally  significant  is  the 
growth  of  self-consciousness  and  power  on  the  part  of 
the  Chinese  Christians.  Until  very  recently  the  control 
of  Christian  work  has  been  in  the  hands  of  the  foreign 
missionaries.  Now  it  is  rapidly  passing  into  Chinese 
hands.  There  are  flourishing  churches  entirely  independ- 
ent of  the  missions.  A  Chinese  Home  Missionary 
Society,  sending  its  own  missionaries  to  parts  of  the 
country  where  the  foreigners  have  hardly  penetrated,  has 
proved  a  success.  The  whole  story  is  epitomized  by  the 
fact  that,  whereas  the  national  Protestant  gathering 
held  in  1907  to  celebrate  the  centennial  of  Morrison's 
landing,  had  no  Chinese  delegates,  the  gathering  held 
in  1922  contained  Chinese  delegates  in  number  equal  to 
the  foreigners.  The  time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  con- 
trol of  the  Christian  enterprise  in  China  will  pass  into 
Chinese  hands.  And  they  will  carry  it  on  to  complete 
victory. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  Give  a  description  of  Chinese  animism;  Buddhism; 
Taoism;  Confucianism. 

2.  What  do  you  think  the  relation  of  Christianity 
should  be  to  Confucianism? 

3.  What  can  you  find  out  about  the  Rites  Controversy 
and  its  effect  on  Roman  Catholic  missions  in  China? 

4.  Give  an  outline  of  China's  dealings  with  foreign 
nations  since  the  landing  of  Morrison,  and  suggest  what 
influence  this  has  had  on  Christian  missions. 

5.  Why  do  you  think  Christianity  is  more  favorably 
received  in  China  to-day  than  formerly? 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  APPROACH  TO  ISLAM 

In  Islam  Christianity  has  found  her  greatest  mis- 
sionary rival  and  her  hardest  field  of  labor.  Perhaps  this 
is  due  to  the  measure  of  truth  left  to  his  followers  by 
Mohammed;  perhaps  to  the  savage  warfare  of  the  past 
between  Christians  and  Mohammedans.  The  fact  re- 
mains that  after  all  these  centuries  Christianity  has 
scarcely  begun  to  make  a  breach  in  the  ranks  of  Islam, 
and  that  at  least  in  parts  of  Africa  the  followers  of  the 
Prophet  are  increasing  more  rapidly  than  any  other  faith. 

The  Moslem  Challenge 

For  centuries  now  Islam  has  been  supreme  in  lands 
once  most  closely  connected  with  Christian  history.  And 
despite  political  changes,  there  are  still  large  regions 
where  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  pray  five  times 
daily,  with  their  faces  turned  toward  Mecca. 

Size  of  the  Moslem  world.— 'The  Moslem  world  as 
a  religious  magnitude  includes  the  whole  of  northern 
Africa,  the  area  of  former  Moslem  states  or  provinces 
now  mainly  under  European  rule.  It  is  being  rapidly 
extended  by  successful  missionary  propaganda  among 
Negroes  in  Middle  Africa,  now  also  under  the  rule  of 
various  states  of  Christendom.  It  reaches  Persia  and 
makes  itself  felt  in  India,  Burma,  Siam,  China,  and  the 
Dutch  and  English  East  Indies.  It  includes  several 
populous  provinces  of  Russia.  Moslem  elements  in  the 
Balkan  states  are  not  negligible."^    It  is  estimated  that 

>E.  C.  Moore,  op.  cit.,  p.  211. 

205 


2o6     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

there  are  about  two  hundred  million  Moslems  in  this 
territory,  of  whom  all  but  about  thirty  million  live  under 
the  political  rule  of  Christian  states. 

Raymond  Lull  and  Henry  Martyn. — The  Crusades 
represented  the  first  attempt  of  Christians  aggressively 
to  combat  the  amazing  growth  of  Mohammedanism 
from  its  origin  in  an  out-of-the-way  part  of  Arabia  to  a 
position  as  a  world  power.  We  have  seen  (see  Chapter 
VIII)  how  far  short  those  miHtary  expeditions  fell  of 
accomplishing  their  ultimate  aims.  Also  we  have  seen, 
in  Raymond  Lull,  who  suffered  martyrdom  as  a  mis- 
sionary in  Tunis  near  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
the  beginning  of  a  new  sort  of  crusade,  such  as  the 
Christian  Church  still  pursues. 

It  was  many  centuries,  however,  before  the  example  of 
Lull  led  to  further  effort  for  the  conversion  of  the 
Moslems.  After  the  passage  of  years  arrangements  were 
made  so  that  hundreds  of  thousands  of  pilgrims,  most  of 
them  from  Russia,  could  cross  Mohammedan  territory 
to  worship  at  the  shrines  of  Palestine.  But  no  evangel- 
istic effort  of  any  account  came  out  of  the  presence  of  aU 
these  Christians.  Finally,  soon  after  Protestant  mis- 
sions began  their  work  in  India,  there  came  to  that  land 
Henry  Martyn,  a  graduate  of  Cambridge  University, 
afire  with  ambition  to  carry  the  gospel  to  Moslem  lands. 

So  completely  did  Martyn  devote  himself  to  the  study 
of  Arabic  and  its  kindred  tongues  that  his  health  was 
completely  undermined.  When  he  finally  pushed  his  way 
into  Persia  he  hved  only  a  year,  just  long  enough  to 
complete  his  translation  of  the  Bible  into  Persian.  But 
he  had  opened  the  way,  and  the  missionary  societies  by 
that  time  formed  in  England  and  America  were  quick  to 
send  others  in  his  footsteps.  When  one  protested  at  the 
manner  in  which  Martyn  threw  himself  into  his  mission 


THE  APPROACH  TO  ISLAM  207 

he  replied,  "Let  me  burn  out  for  God!" — a  motto  that 
has  inspired  hundreds  to  seek  the  same  career  that 
possessed  him. 

The  American  pioneers. — While  Martyn  and  the 
English  societies  were  approaching  Islam  from  the 
Indian  base,  American  missionaries  were  landing  in  Asia 
Minor — what  is  often  called  the  Near  East — to  under- 
take what  was  intended  as  work  for  the  Jews  in  Jeru- 
salem, but  grew  into  the  great  missions  for  Moslems  that 
have  been  conducted  by  the  American  Board  of  Com- 
missioners for  Foreign  Missions  (the  Congregational 
board). 

Names  mean  httle,  although  it  is  impossible  to  study 
this  advance  without  remembering  such  men  as  Fiske, 
Goodell,  Dwight,  SchaufBer,  and  Riggs.  The  mental 
attainments  of  these  men  are  suggested  when  it  is  said 
that  Riggs  "had  a  working  knowledge  of  twenty  lan- 
guages and  was  master  of  twelve."  The  center  of  their 
work  became  Beirut,  rather  than  Jerusalem,  and  atten- 
tion was  largely  given  to  the  establishment  of  schools 
and  the  publication  of  the  Bible  and  other  Christian 
hterature. 

Spreading  Christianity  Through  Schools 

The  story  of  the  Christian  effort  among  the  Moslems, 
from  the  establishment  of  the  first  schools  in  Beirut 
about  a  hundred  years  ago,  has  been  largely  the  account 
of  an  effort  to  mold  the  future  by  forming  the  minds  of 
the  students. 

Cooperating  with  ancient  churches. — It  must  not 
be  forgotten  that  in  entering  the  Near  East  the  mis- 
sionaries found  there  already  certain  Christian  churches 
that  had  branched  off  from  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church. 
Of  these  the  most  important  was  the  Armenian,  includ- 


2o8     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

ing  what  was  perhaps  the  most  progressive  element 
within  the  Turkish  Empire. 

Protestant  missions  began  their  effort  at  a  time  when 
within  the  Armenian  church  there  was  discontent  and  a 
desire  for  a  clergy  with  better  character  and  better 
training.  It  seemed  as  though  the  greatest  contribution 
possible  would  be  to  supply  this  training,  and  then  leave 
the  already  established  Christian  bodies  with  the  task  of 
evangelizing  the  masses. 

For  a  time  this  policy  was  followed,  but  at  last  the 
reactionary  element  within  the  Armenian  church  re- 
volted against  the  efforts  being  made  to  reform  their 
priesthood,  and  all  who  had  contact  with  the  Protestants 
were  excommunicated.  Necessity  thus  forced  the  found- 
ing of  a  distinctive  Protestant  communion,  which,  despite 
the  terrible  persecutions  of  recent  years,  remains  with 
increasing  vitality. 

Outposts  of  a  new  mind. — Finally  the  missionaries 
began  to  plant  those  educational  institutions  that  have 
played  so  important  a  part  in  the  recent  history  of 
Turkey,  the  Balkans,  and  the  Near  East.  The  first  of 
these  was  Robert  College,  developed  by  Cyrus  Hamlin 
on  the  shores  of  the  Bosphorus,  just  outside  of  Constan- 
tinople. Here,  under  the  control  of  the  Regents  of  the 
University  of  the  State  of  New  York,  has  been  built  a 
college  in  every  respect  comparable  to  the  institutions  of 
the  United  States.  It  has  drawn  from  every  race  and 
religion  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  with  large  numbers  from 
the  Balkans,  especially  Bulgaria.  That  it  has  had  a  large 
part  in  fomenting  the  recent  desires  for  reform  is  con- 
ceded. 

Other  institutions  of  marked  influence  in  the  Near 
East  have  been  the  Syrian  Protestant  College  at  Beirut, 
the  Constantinople  College  for  women,  and  the  Inter- 


^ 


NVaOO   0UNV7XV 


THE  APPROACH  TO  ISLAM  209 

national  College  at  Smyrna.  All  these  have  been  seeking 
to  give  students  a  conception  of  the  world  as  the  Chris- 
tian views  it,  and  when  we  realize  that  such  a  college  as 
that  in  Beirut  had  in  its  student  body  a  few  years  ago 
346  boys  from  Greek  Orthodox  homes,  127  from  Moslem, 
62  from  Jewish,  20  from  Druse,  as  well  as  its  147  from 
Protestant,  we  can  understand  how  widespread  must  be 
its  influence. 

Turkey  and  the  Christians 

Political  questions  growing  out  of  the  disintegration 
of  the  Turkish  Empire  have  deeply  affected  Christian 
work  in  Moslem  lands  during  recent  years. 

Turkey  as  a  ruler  of  Christians. — It  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  the  Turks,  while  enjoying  special  priv- 
ileges, have  been  a  minority  of  less  than  twenty  per  cent 
of  the  people  making  up  the  Ottoman  Empire.  Many  of 
the  subject  races,  particularly  the  Greeks  and  Armenians, 
have  been  Christians.  The  social  and  civil  disadvantages 
laid  upon  these  subject  races  have  been  severe,  because 
of  the  determination  of  the  Turks  to  maintain  their  own 
ascendency.  Whenever  opportunity  has  been  given,  both 
Armenians  and  Greeks  have  proved  their  ability  to  rise 
to  posts  of  high  importance  or  places  of  business  control. 
As  a  result,  the  feeHng  of  many  Turks  toward  the  Arme- 
nians has  been  akin  to  that  of  many  Christians  toward 
the  Jews  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  desire  of  the  Turks  to  repress  the  subject  Christian 
races  has  been  whetted  by  the  policy  of  the  Christian 
powers.  These  have  used  the  wrongs  inflicted  upon  the 
Armenians  as  a  pretext  for  the  furthering  of  their  own 
political  designs.  As  the  Turkish  government  grew  more 
degenerate,  France,  England,  and  Russia  looked  with 
longing  eyes  toward  the  control  of  the  Dardanelles,  the 


2IO     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

back  door  to  Europe.  Later  Germany  entered  the  con- 
test. Turkey  found  the  powers  so  jealous  of  one  another 
that  she  could  play  them  off  against  each  other,  thus 
insuring  her  own  safety,  while  she  dealt  with  her  subject 
races  as  she  desired. 

This  has  led  to  increasing  massacres.  In  the  '80s  ana 
again  in  the  '90s  of  the  last  century  thousands  of  Ar- 
menians were  killed,  and  the  voice  of  the  Christian  world 
was  raised  in  protest.  Turkey,  knowing  that  England 
would  not  permit  Russia  to  move  alone,  nor  Russia 
Germany,  and  that  the  three  would  not  act  in  concert, 
seemed  undisturbed.  When  the  victory  of  the  Young 
Turks  in  1908  brought  a  constitution  and  an  apparent 
new  day,  it  also  brought  a  renewal  of  the  butchery,  for 
the  Turks  were  determined  that  the  economic  advantages 
of  the  new  era  should  not  be  largely  gathered  by  their 
more  active  Christian  subjects. 

Turkey  in  defeat. — In  191 2  the  Balkan  states, 
former  parts  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  combined  to  attack 
Turkey.  For  a  time  they  swept  all  before  them,  and  it 
seemed  as  though  the  end  of  "the  sick  man  of  Europe" 
had  come.  But  the  little  Balkan  kingdoms  proved  no 
more  able  to  act  in  harmony  than  the  big  powers,  and 
soon  fell  to  fighting  among  themselves  to  such  an  extent 
that  Turkey  regained  almost  all  she  had  lost. 

Then  came  the  World  War,  in  which  Turkey  threw  in 
her  lot  with  the  Central  Empires.  Once  more  she  has 
lost.  Once  more  she  has  seemed  at  the  mercy  of  the 
Christian  powers,  and  the  world  has  looked  for  some 
expiation  of  her  record  of  bloodshed.  During  the  war 
Turkey  carried  through  the  most  systematic  and  awful 
massacre  of  the  Armenians  in  her  history,  seeking  abso- 
lutely to  exterminate  that  race.  In  all  history  there  is 
no  record  of  deliberate  fiendishness  to  surpass  the  Turkish 


THE  APPROACH  TO  ISLAM  211 

atrocities  of  the  past  five  years.  Yet  to-day,  almost  four 
years  after  the  end  of  the  war,  Turkey  remains  in 
possession  of  Constantinople  and  bids  fair  to  continue 
a  political  factor  in  Europe,  because  the  Christian 
nations  have  not  yet  reached  the  point  where  they  can 
sink  their  own  jealousies  sufficiently  to  deal  with  her. 

The  Outlook  for  Christian  Missions 

It  is  hard,  in  the  confusion  of  these  years  following  the 
Great  War,  to  prophesy  as  to  what  the  future  holds  for 
Christian  work  among  the  Moslems. 

The  present  situation. — What  is  the  effect  to  be  of 
the  gradual  passing  of  almost  all  Moslem  territory  under 
the  political  domination  of  Christian  states?  At  the  be- 
ginning of  this  chapter  we  pointed  out  the  spots  where 
Mohammedanism  now  flourishes.  Note  that  all  these 
regions,  with  the  exception  of  China  (where  the  Moslems 
are  not  more  than  one  twentieth  of  the  population)  are 
under  Christian  rule.  Even  Arabia,  with  the  sacred 
cities  of  Mecca  and  Medina,  is  now  practically  under 
Enghsh  control.  At  the  least,  this  will  make  it  possible 
for  Christians  to  carry  on  missionary  work  among 
Moslems  where  they  wish.  And  in  some  parts,  par- 
ticularly in  India,  there  have  been  noteworthy  accessions 
to  the  Christian  communities  from  Moslem  ranks. 

Possible  difficulties. — This  political  advantage  must 
not  blind  us  to  possible  difficulties.  Some  may  grow 
directly  out  of  the  political  situation,  as  at  present  in 
India,  where  the  Moslem  subjects  of  Great  Britain  are 
greatly  stirred  up  over  what  they  declare  to  be  the  un- 
just treatment  meted  Turkey.  But  more  likely  is  it  that 
Mohammedanism,  shut  out  from  political  influence  by 
the  disintegration  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  will  experience 
a  spiritual  renewal  that  will  increase  her  missionary 


212     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

activity  and  make  her  adherents  more  than  ever  difficult 
of  approach. 

The  goal  in  view. — However,  although  Christians 
should  not  be  surprised  if  a  long  period  of  ill  success  at- 
tends their  efforts  with  Islam,  the  final  outcome  cannot 
be  doubted.  Mohammedanism  is  on  the  down  grade. 
Its  weakness  in  providing  poHtical  energy  has  been 
demonstrated.  It  has  no  mental  life  wherewith  to  face 
the  universe  we  now  know.  Spiritually  we  do  not  believe 
that,  with  all  its  contributions,  it  can  completely  supply 
men's  inner  needs.  We  can  trust  that  the  day  wiU  soon 
come  when  the  so-called  Christian  nations  will  prove 
their  power  to  deal  with  the  political  problems  presented 
by  the  break-up  of  the  Turkish  rule  in  a  more  Christian 
spirit  than  they  have  shown.  But  all  the  time  we  can 
beheve  that  the  continued  attack  on  the  foundations  of 
the  Moslem  faith,  through  Christian  schools  and  Chris- 
tian literature,  will  bring  its  ultimate  reward  in  the  final 
disappearance  of  Christianity's  greatest  rival. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  Outline  the  disintegration  of  the  Ottoman  Empire 
since  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

2.  What  elements  in  Mohammedan  teaching  do  you 
consider  true? 

3.  Do  you  consider  that  Protestant  missionaries  to 
Asia  Minor  were  wise  in  trying  to  cooperate  with  the 
Armenian  Church?    Why? 

4.  Give  an  outline  of  the  various  Armenian  massacres. 

5.  Why  do  you  believe  education  has  been  considered 
the  most  effective  form  of  approach  to  Islam? 

6.  What  dangers  to  the  Christian  enterprise  may 
arise  as  a  result  of  the  political  dominance  of  Christian 
powers  over  Moslem  states? 


CHAPTER  XXV 
THE  CROSS  IN  THE  JAPANESE  EMPIRE 

Six  small  islands,  part  of  a  seventh,  and  a  former 
kingdom  on  the  adjacent  Asiatic  mainland,  with  a 
population  of  about  sixty  million,  comprise  an  empire 
that  has,  within  half  a  century,  forged  to  a  place  among 
the  world's  great  powers.  In  all  history  there  is  no 
parallel  to  the  rapidity  with  which  the  Japanese  Empire 
has  become  an  arbiter  of  the  destinies  of  the  Far  East. 

Naturally,  Christianity,  as  a  missionary  religion,  has 
tried  to  place  its  impress  upon  Japan.  We  will  consider 
this  effort  in  three  periods. 

Japan's  First  Contacts  With  Christianity 

Already  we  have  seen  (see  Chapter  XIV)  how  Xavier 
reached  Japan,  He  stayed  there  but  a  short  time,  but 
when  he  left,  bound  on  his  fruitless  attempt  to  enter 
China,  there  were  other  Jesuit  missionaries  on  hand  to 
take  over  the  work. 

The  Jesuits  in  Japan. — In  no  field  did  the  Jesuits 
achieve  a  success  to  equal  that  which  came  to  their 
missions  in  Japan.  It  was  only  a  few  years  before  high 
officials  were  accepting  baptism,  and  when  one  of  the 
great  barons  of  that  feudal  period  showed  his  favor  for 
the  new  faith  accessions  to  its  ranks  came  by  the  thou- 
sands. The  great  center  of  Christian  worship  was  in 
Nagasaki,  from  which  city  at  one  time  all  non-Christians 
were  banished. 

The  period  of  persecution. — The  Jesuit  missionaries 
213 


214     THE   SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

made  the  mistake  of  uniting  the  fortunes  of  their  re- 
ligious work  with  the  political  fortunes  of  certain  clans. 
Thus  they  found  themselves  mixed  up  in  the  internal 
poHtics  of  Japan,  a  fate  that  has  frequently  befallen 
Jesuit  efforts.  And  when  the  lords  who  had  favored  the 
Christians  gave  way  to  other  leaders,  great  resentment 
was  exhibited  against  the  foreign  faith  that  had  espoused 
the  losing  side.  As  a  result  Christianity  began  to  be 
persecuted.  In  the  early  years  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury the  Catholic  missions  were  apparently  wiped  out. 
Martyrs  for  the  faith. — Studying  the  work  of  the 
Jesuits  from  this  distance,  it  is  easy  to  point  out  its 
superficial  features,  and  to  say  that  the  conversions  of 
such  masses  in  so  short  a  time  could  never  have  produced 
inner  transformation  in  every  individual.  But  when  we 
read  of  those  who  chose  to  be  crucified  rather  than 
recant,  and  of  the  massacre  at  Nagasaki  in  1637,  when 
something  like  twenty  thousand  fighting  men  with  their 
women  and  children  were  slaughtered,  we  must  admit 
that  there  was  enough  reality  in  their  faith  to  command 
respect. 

The  Impenetrable  Years 

With  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  Japan 
shut  herself  off  from  the  rest  of  the  world  for  more  than 
two  centuries.  Alarmed  at  the  designs  of  the  foreigners 
who  had  reached  her  shores,  she  sought  security  in 
isolation. 

Christians  in  secret. — The  edicts  that  led  to  the 
extermination  of  the  Jesuit  missions  were  but  a  part  of 
the  effort  to  cut  Japan  off  from  the  outside.  Merchants 
who  still  sought  to  penetrate  her  guards  were  treated 
with  as  much  cruelty  as  the  missionaries.  Yet,  in  the 
face  of  this  determination,  during  years  when  a  man's 


THE  CROSS  IN  JAPANESE  EMPIRE    215 

life  was  forfeit  if  he  was  simply  found  in  possession  of 
Christian  symbols,  some  Japanese,  cut  off  from  all  Chris- 
tian instruction,  managed  to  retain  a  sense  of  their 
allegiance  to  Christ,  for  in  1872,  when  French  priests 
were  allowed  to  return  to  Nagasaki,  they  found  more 
than  eight  thousand  persons  who  called  themselves 
Christians!  A  more  striking  testimony  to  the  power  of 
Christianity  to  survive,  no  matter  what  its  difficulties, 
could  not  be  asked. 

The  religions  of  Japan. — During  these  years  when 
there  could  only  be  a  few  Christians  living  on  in  secret, 
the  ancient  reUgions  held  the  field  in  Japan  unchallenged. 
The  dominant  philosophy  was  Confucianism,  imported 
from  China.  The  religion  with  the  greatest  popular 
following  was  Buddhism,  which  had  traveled  north  from 
India  by  way  of  China  and  Korea.  "In  all  probability 
Buddhism  is  more  progressive  and  in  a  more  flourishing 
condition  in  Japan  than  in  any  other  Buddhist  country."^ 
Shintoism  was  the  original  worship  that,  beginning  as  a 
simple  form  of  nature  worship,  has  developed  into  what 
amounts  to  the  state  religion,  with  the  veneration  of 
ancestors  and  of  the  imperial  house  as  its  main  charac- 
teristics. The  imperial  house  is  conceived  as  directly 
descended  from  the  divinities  who  founded  Japan  (an 
event  supposed  to  have  taken  place  less  than  seven 
hundred  years  before  the  Christian  era) ,  and  the  essential 
message  of  Shintoism  has  been  declared  to  be,  "Fear  the 
gods  and  obey  the  emperor."^  It  can  be  seen  how  direct 
an  influence  such  a  religion  would  have  on  the  develop- 
ment of  a  strongly  imperialistic  state. 

The   coming    of    Perry. — After    China    had   been 


•  E.  D.  Soper,  The  Religions  of  Mankind,  The  Abingdon  Press,  publishers,  p.  2I0. 
»G.  W.  Knox,   The  Development  cf  Religion  in  Japan,  p.  237.     G.  P.  Putnam's 
Sons,  publishers.  New  York  and  Loudon.     Quoted  by  Soper. 


2i6     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

opened  up  to  the  West  it  became  inevitable  that  Japan 
should  lay  aside  her  isolation.  The  Island  Empire 
managed  to  resist  all  pressure  until  1853,  when  an 
American  squadron,  under  the  command  of  Commodore 
Perry,  secured  the  first  treaty,  providing  for  a  few  com- 
mercial rights.  Other  nations  followed  the  American  lead, 
and  soon  Japan  was  completely  open  to  the  Occident. 
This  proved  the  impulse  needed  to  precipitate  forces  that 
had  been  working  within  the  country  for  years,  and  after 
a  few  years  the  old  feudal  order  was  displaced  in  favor 
of  a  centralized  government,  with  the  Mikado  as  supreme 
ruler.  A  wave  of  patriotic  enthusiasm  swept  the  land, 
and  men  of  all  ranks  vied  with  one  another  in  introducing 
reforms  that  would  increase  the  power  of  Japan. 

Working  to  Win  a  World  Power 

The  transformation  of  Japan  along  Western  lines 
began  in  the  year  1866.  Six  years  later  the  Emperor 
granted  an  Act  of  Toleration,  under  which  Christian 
effort  has  been  pushed  with  great  enthusiasm. 

Japan's  place  in  the  sun. — While  some  young 
Japanese  were  sent  abroad  to  fit  themselves  for  future 
leadership,  foreigners  were  brought  to  Japan  to  start  the 
changes  that  were  to  put  that  country  on  a  new  basis. 
"Englishmen  were  employed  to  superintend  the  building 
of  railways,  the  introduction  of  the  telegraph,  the  coast 
survey,  and  the  organization  of  the  navy.  To  Frenchmen 
was  intrusted  largely  the  work  of  recasting  the  laws, 
estabhshing  the  courts,  and  training  the  army.  Educa- 
tional affairs,  the  postal  service,  and  the  improvement  of 
agriculture  were  put  in  the  hands  of  Americans.  The 
teaching  of  medicine,  the  compilation  of  a  commercial 
code,  and  ultimately  the  training  of  military  officers,  was 
assigned  to  Germans.    Italians  were  called  as  counselors 


THE  CROSS  IN  JAPANESE  EMPIRE    217 

in  matters  of  art."^  When  Japanese  had  been  sufficiently 
trained  they  were  placed  in  the  positions  which  these 
foreigners  had  created. 

By  1894  Japan  felt  strong  enough  to  challenge  China 
for  the  leadership  of  the  Far  East,  and  amazed  the  world 
by  the  ease  with  which  she  overwhelmed  that  cumbrous 
and  still  sleeping  giant.  Robbed  of  some  of  the  fruits  of 
her  victory  by  certain  European  powers,  and  frightened 
by  the  approach  of  Russia  across  Siberia  and  down  into 
Korea,  she  secured  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain  that 
guaranteed  her  against  intervention  by  any  third  party, 
and  then  attacked  Russia.  The  manner  in  which  she  won 
that  war  is  familiar  to  all.  As  a  result  Japan  entered  the 
second  decade  of  the  present  century  not  only  the  leader 
among  the  nations  of  the  East,  but  entitled  to  that  seat 
among  the  Great  Powers  that  she  has  since  then  occupied 
at  international  gatherings.  So  swiftly  had  she  been 
transformed  by  the  acceptance  and  adaptation  of  certain 
elements  in  Western  civilization. 

Progress  and  aspects  of  the  Christian  movement. — 
During  all  this  period  of  advance  Christian  missionaries 
— Protestant,  Catholic,  Russian  Orthodox — had  been  at 
work.  For  a  time  their  efforts  prospered  as  they  had 
never  prospered  in  other  non-Christian  countries.  Then 
came  a  period  of  reaction,  when  the  Japanese  were 
naturally  asking  themselves  whether  they  had  not  gone 
too  far  in  accepting  things  foreign.  Out  of  that  came  a 
church  more  self-conscious,  and  with  a  larger  measure  of 
self-leadership  and  government  than  has  yet  arisen  in  any 
of  the  modern  non-Christian  lands.  Practically  all  the 
Protestant  churches  in  Japan  are  to-day  under  their  own 
control,  and  increasingly  the  missionaries  are  serving  in 
advisory  capacities.    This  is  a  development  that  one 

>E.  C.  Moore,  op.  cil.,  p.  157. 


2i8     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

would  expect  in  a  nation  with  as  ardent  a  nationalistic 
spirit  as  Nippon. 

There  are  more  than  113,000  Protestant  communicants 
in  Japan  to-day,  with  75,000  Roman  Catholics  and 
36,000  members  of  the  Russian  Orthodox  Church.  This 
means  about  one  Japanese  in  every  250  owns  allegiance 
to  some  form  of  Christianity.  But  the  work  of  Chris- 
tianity has  only  begun  in  that  land.  Particularly  in  the 
bringing  of  Christian  conditions  to  industry  and  in  im- 
proving the  lot  of  women  there  is  an  immense  task 
ahead.  Japan  is  fast  becoming  a  manufacturing  nation. 
In  a  single  year  between  19 14  and  191 5  the  factory 
employees  of  the  country  increased  from  300,000  to 
978,000.  Now  they  number  more  than  2,000,000.  And 
conditions  in  most  of  the  factories  are  unspeakable. 

The  common  temper  of  Japan  to-day  is  hardly 
spiritual.  Most  men  seem  absorbed  in  the  race  for 
material  success,  and  there  are  many  signs  of  inner  decay. 
This  condition  has  had  its  effect  upon  the  foreign  policy 
of  the  empire,  which  has  aroused  such  misgiving  in  recent 
years.  It  is  the  good  fortune  of  Christianity  that  it  can 
meet  this  condition  with  an  effort  that  is  largely  Japanese 
and  there  are  multiplying  signs  of  a  readiness  to  respond 
to  a  spiritual  message  coming  from  the  lips  of  men  of 
the  same  race. 

Korea,  Where  the  Morning  Calm  Has  Passed 

Korea,  during  the  years  of  her  isolation,  was  known  as 
"the  Land  of  the  Morning  Calm."  Such  a  title  scarcely 
fits  the  upheaval  taking  place  in  that  country  to-day. 

The  gospel  in  Korea. — The  kingdom  of  Korea,  until 
recent  years  a  nominal  dependency  of  the  empire  of 
China,  for  years  maintained  isolation  with  as  much  de- 
termination as  Japan.    And,  as  in  the  case  of  Japan,  it 


THE  CROSS  IN  JAPANESE  EMPIRE    219 

was  America  that  first  penetrated  the  reserve  of  the 
"hermit  kingdom."  American  missionaries  led  in  the 
introduction  of  Christianity,  which,  after  long  years  of 
effort,  suddenly,  in  the  early  years  of  this  century,  began 
to  attract  converts  in  large  numbers.  At  the  present  time, 
with  a  population  of  about  16,000,000,  there  are  about 
90,000  Protestant  communicants,  and  many  more  in 
preparatory  stages  of  church  membership.  It  will  be 
seen  that,  in  comparison  to  the  population,  this  is  the 
largest  Christian  community  in  any  of  the  modern 
non-Christian  lands. 

Korea  in  the  Japanese  Empire. — Korea  was  freed 
from  Chinese  suzerainty  by  the  war  between  China  and 
Japan  in  1894.  But  the  monarchy  was  so  corrupt  and 
weak  that  it  proved  unable  to  maintain  itself.  Japan 
fought  Russia  to  keep  that  European  power  from 
swallowing  the  kingdom,  and  then,  in  1910,  formally 
annexed  it,  making  it  a  part  of  her  empire  under  the 
ancient  name  of  Chosen. 

Japan  can  point  to  an  unusual  record  in  developing  the 
material  resources  of  the  country.  Unfortunately,  the 
work  has  not  been  done  in  a  way  to  win  the  gratitude 
of  the  Koreans.  Too  many  of  the  Japanese  colonial 
officials  have  been  educated  in  ways  that  make  them 
strict  bureaucrats,  but  without  that  imagination  or  sym- 
pathy that  makes  contact  with  subject  peoples  easy.  The 
Koreans  have  piled  up  a  bill  of  complaints  that  drove 
them,  in  1919,  to  attempt  to  secure  their  independence 
by  peaceful  agitation.  This  independence  movement  has 
been  sternly  repressed,  Japanese  statistics  showing  that, 
before  the  end  of  191 9,  631  Koreans  were  killed,  nearly 
29,000  arrested,  10,500  flogged,  and  41  Christian 
churches  were  totally  or  partially  destroyed. 

The  future  in  Korea. — The  troubles  in  Korea  have 


220     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

led  to  improvement  in  the  Japanese  administration. 
Revolutionary  agitation  is  still  carried  on,  but  there 
seems  little  chance  but  that  the  country  must  work  out 
its  destiny  as  a  part  of  the  Japanese  Empire.  Some 
official  suspicion  of  Christian  mission  work  has  shown 
itself,  but  no  direct  connection  with  the  uprising  has  been 
proven.  However,  the  revolutionary  effect  of  the  Chris- 
tian message  itself  must  be  recognized.  There  may  be  a 
reaction  against  Christianity  in  Korea  in  the  future, 
if  the  present  hopes  of  freedom  prove  finally  empty. 
But,  for  progressive  Koreans,  Christianity  is  likely  to 
remain  a  compelling  faith,  until  the  day  comes  when  they 
take  over  the  conduct  of  the  churches,  which  are  still 
largely  under  missionary  control.  As  a  Korean-led  body, 
the  Christian  Church  should  go  forward  to  the  complete 
Christianization  of  this  portion  of  the  Japanese  Empire. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  What  can  you  discover  as  to  the  contribution  of 
American  missionaries  to  the  making  of  modem  Japan? 

2.  What  contribution  do  you  think  Christianity  still 
has  to  make  to  the  development  of  Japan? 

3.  If  the  church  with  which  you  are  connected  has 
representatives  in  Japan,  what  can  you  find  out  about 
the  size  of  the  work  they  are  carrying  on  there? 

4.  Why  do  you  think  it  natural  that  the  churches  in 
Japan  should  have  won  a  large  measure  of  self-gov- 
ernment? 

5.  In  what  way  might  the  preaching  of  Christianity 
contribute  to  such  an  uprising  as  that  for  Korean 
independence? 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

IN  THE  DARK  CONTINENT 

Africa,  although  one  of  the  continents  longest  known, 
is  almost  a  new  problem  before  spreading  Christianity 
to-day.  Within  the  memory  of  living  men,  vast  portions 
of  its  territory  have  ceased  to  be  labeled  "unknown." 
"It  is  difficult  to  realize  that  the  Egyptians  at  Dendera 
and  Thebes,  the  keen  and  curious  Hallicarnassan  who 
came  to  wonder  at  their  greatness,  Romans  who  honored 
Hadrian  within  the  temple  area  at  Luxor,  Copts  who  built 
Christian  churches  out  of  stones  taken  from  memorials 
of  them  all,  Arabs  in  the  frenzy  of  their  conquering 
passion,  from  Omar  to  the  Mahdi,  all  had  lived  under  the 
glowing  African  sun,  but  the  Africa  which  lay  beyond  the 
Cataracts  was  as  much  unknown  to  them  as  if  it  had 
been  on  some  far  star."  ^  Yet  to-day  this  continent  is 
almost  entirely  open,  and  it  will  not  be  long  before  the 
dream  of  traveling  by  rail  from  Cape  Town  to  Cairo  will 
become  an  actuality. 

Christian  Beginnings  in  Africa 

Let  us  not  forget  that  Africa  has  an  ancient  Christian 
history. 

The  church  that  disappeared. — No  chapter  in  the 
record  of  the  church  is  sadder  than  that  which  deals 
with  the  disappearance  of  the  congregations  of  North 
Africa.  After  the  first  century  North  Africa  had  been  the 
seat  of  a  vigorous  Christian  community.  In  Alexandria 
there  developed  the  most  original  group  of  theologians  of 

'E.  C.  Moore,  op.  cil.,  p.  259. 

221 


222     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

those  days.  Farther  along  the  coast  there  was  born  such 
a  man  as  Saint  Augustine.  The  whole  region  was  dom- 
inantly  Christian.  Then  came  the  Vandals,  so  scourging 
the  territory  in  which  they  settled  that  its  powers  of 
resistance  were  lowered.  And  then  came  the  Moslems, 
on  their  way  toward  Spain.  And  North  Africa  has  been 
from  that  day  one  of  the  strongholds  of  Islam. 

Catholic  missions  in  by-gone  days. — But  when  the 
Portuguese  navigators  in  the  age  of  discovery  (see 
Chapter  XII)  began  to  make  the  first  landings  on  the 
African  coast  they  brought  Catholic  missionaries  in  their 
wake.  But  their  work,  unfortunately,  was  of  the  most 
superficial  kind.  Records  tell  of  the  conversion  of  whole 
native  courts  within  a  few  weeks  after  the  arrival  of  the 
missionaries,  and  the  enforced  baptism  of  all  the  subjects. 
In  some  places  the  priests  made  gifts  of  beads  and  cloth 
to  those  natives  who  would  receive  baptism.  Elsewhere, 
when  the  destruction  of  their  idols  produced  trouble, 
they  were  given  images  of  saints  with  which  to  console 
themselves.  In  one  kingdom  the  quarrels  between  the 
various  Catholic  orders — Jesuits,  Dominicans,  Francis- 
cans, and  Augustinians— became  so  fierce  that  they  were 
all  sent  back  to  Portugal  in  irons. 

Christianity  and  the  slave  trade.^ — The  thing  that 
the  conquering  whites  really  sought  in  Africa  in  those 
days  was  the  easy  wealth  that  came  from  the  traffic  in 
slavery.  It  is,  alas,  clear  that  the  Christian  missionaries 
were  not  always  alive  to  the  iniquity  of  that  trade.  "A 
marble  chair  used  to  be  shown  standing  against  a  pier 
in  the  cathedral  at  Saint  Paul  de  Loanda  from  which  the 
bishops  used  to  give  their  blessing  to  the  slave  ships  as 
these  sailed  away  with  their  precious  cargo  for  Portuguese 
possessions  in  the  West  Indies  and  Brazil."^    Even  as 

>E.  C.  Moore,  oi>.  cit.,  p.  254- 


IN  THE  DARK  CONTINENT  223 

late  as  1772  a  Protestant  missionary,  Thomas  Thompson, 
a  graduate  of  Cambridge  University,  published  a  pamph- 
let entitled,  The  African  Trade  for  Negro  Slaves  Shown  to 
Be  Consistent  with  the  Principles  of  Humanity  and  with 
the  Laws  of  Revealed  Religion.  Of  course  the  fact  that 
such  a  pamphlet  was  written  shows  that  by  that  time 
some  were  questioning  the  moral  basis  of  the  trade.  It 
is  to  the  honor  of  later  Protestant  missions  that  they  led 
in  the  agitation  which  resulted  in  the  outlawing  of  the 
business. 

David  Livingstone 

The  spirit  and  achievements  of  the  early  Protestant 
missionaries  can  largely  be  summed  up  in  the  career  of 
the  most  famous  of  them. 

A  loom-taught  missionary. — Livingstone  began  life 
under  the  humblest  circumstances,  going  as  a  boy  of  ten 
to  a  place  as  a  "piecer"  at  the  looms  of  his  native  Scot- 
land. There  he  struggled  for  an  education,  placing  his 
dearly  bought  textbooks  on  the  frame  beside  him  as  he 
worked.  On  entering  young  manhood  he  dedicated  him- 
self as  a  medical  missionary  to  work  in  China,  but  when 
he  was  finally  accepted  for  service  it  was  to  the  then 
"Dark  Continent"  that  he  was  sent.  To  the  London 
Missionary  Society  went  the  honor  of  commissioning 
him,  as  it  had  commissioned  that  other  pioneer,  Robert 
Morrison  of  China. 

Explorer  and  missionary. — In  Africa  Livingstone 
began  work  with  Robert  Moffatt,  one  of  the  great 
pioneers,  whose  daughter  he  married.  Many  were  the 
difficulties  placed  in  his  way,  mainly  by  white  men  who 
resented  the  attempt  to  uplift  the  Negroes.  But  the  Scot 
would  not  be  discouraged.  Leaving  his  family  in  Eng- 
land he  felt  free  to  press  into  regions  hitherto  unopened. 


224     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Wherever  he  went  he  took  with  him  a  scientific  zeal  in 
exploration  that  matched  his  devotion  to  his  rehgious 
task.  He  crossed  the  continent,  after  penetrating  eleven 
thousand  miles  of  jungle  where  no  civilized  man  had 
ever  been  before.  He  made  valuable  discoveries  as  to 
the  great  lakes  and  rivers  of  Central  Africa;  and  every- 
where he  left  natives  touched  with  gratitude  toward 
Christianity  as  it  was  incarnated  in  this  man  who 
brought  healing  and  a  message  of  love. 

The  foe  of  the  slave  trade.— Great  Britain  had 
outlawed  the  slave  trade  early  in  the  nineteenth  century, 
and  other  European  nations  followed  her  lead.  But  in 
his  explorations  through  Central  Africa  Livingstone  dis- 
covered that  the  traffic  in  human  Hves  continued.  In 
1858  he  cut  loose  from  connection  with  any  missionary 
society,  and  from  then  until  his  death,  fifteen  years  later, 
he  gave  himself  above  all  other  things  to  the  ending  of 
the  slave  trade. 

Once  he  was  lost  for  seven  years  from  the  knowledge 
of  the  world,  only  to  be  found  by  the  man  who  was  to 
become  his  greatest  successor  as  an  explorer,  Henry  M. 
Stanley.  During  aU  the  time  he  was  weakened  by  illness 
peculiar  to  such  a  climate.   But  he  struggled  on. 

At  last  one  morning,  in  1873,  his  Negro  bearers  entered 
his  quarters  at  Chitambo's  village  on  the  south  of  Lake 
Bangweolo,  to  find  him  dead,  on  his  knees.  There  is 
pathos  in  the  fidelity  with  which  his  companions,  having 
buried  his  heart  there  in  the  continent  for  which  he  gave 
his  fife,  brought  his  body  back  to  the  coast,  and  at  last 
to  England,  where  it  lies  in  Westminster  Abbey. 

Above  his  tomb  are  these  words:  "For  thirty  years  his 
life  was  spent  in  an  unwearied  effort  to  evangelize  the 
native  races,  to  explore  undiscovered  secrets,  and  abohsh 
the  desolating  slave  trade  of  Central  Africa,  when,  with 


IN  THE  DARK  CONTINENT  225 

his  last  words,  he  wrote:  'All  I  can  say  in  my  solitude 
is,  may  Heaven's  rich  blessing  come  down  on  every  one 
— American,  English,  Turk — who  wiU  help  to  heal  this 
open  sore  of  the  world.'  "  Of  such  stuff  are  made  the 
men  who  to  this  day  lead  in  the  spread  of  Christ's 
kingdom. 

A  Missionary  Problem 

This  great  continent,  so  recently  explored,  must  be 
considered  still  rather  as  a  problem  for  Christianity  than 
an  example  of  its  power. 

Africa  in  white  hands. — As  Livingstone  and  others 
opened  up  the  resources  of  the  continent,  the  nations  of 
Europe  rushed  to  possess  them.  The  Dutch  had  made  the 
first  landing  in  the  south.  The  English  dreamed  of  a  Hne 
of  colonies  that  should  extend  from  tip  to  tip.  The 
Germans  sought  to  make  up  for  their  lack  of  colonies  in 
other  parts  of  the  world  by  securing  vast  tracts  here. 
The  French,  the  Portuguese,  the  Spanish,  the  Belgians  all 
came  in. 

Some  of  this  colonial  development,  particularly  that 
carried  on  by  the  British,  has  been  fairly  enlightened. 
But  for  the  most  part  the  white  man's  first  aim  has  been 
the  possession  of  gold,  diamonds,  rubber,  or  ivory  rather 
than  the  good  of  the  natives. 

To-day  there  remain  in  aU  Africa  only  two  states,  the 
republic  of  Liberia  and  the  kingdom  of  Abyssinia,  that 
are  not  possessions  or  dependencies  of  European  nations. 
The  black  man  has  practically  no  voice  in  the  control  of 
his  own  political  destinies. 

Effect  of  the  West. — While  the  debased  character  of 
life  under  the  old  conditions,  which  still  continue  in  some 
inaccessible  parts  of  Central  Africa,  must  be  remembered, 
the  white  man  cannot  be   proud   of    his  record  as  a 


226     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

"civilizer."  Too  frequently,  when  he  has  not  stolen  the 
Negro  outright,  he  has  pressed  him  into  forms  of  labor 
that  have  been  little  better  than  slavery. 

Records  of  brutaUty  in  connection  with  various  indus- 
trial exploitations,  such  as  disgraced  the  rule  of  King 
Leopold  of  Belgium  in  the  Congo,  have  been  frequent  in 
most  of  the  colonies.  The  white  man's  liquor,  his  com- 
merciahzed  vice,  his  most  degrading  forms  of  self- 
indulgence  have  been  pushed  where  his  religion  has  hardly 
penetrated.  A  million  and  a  half  gallons  of  rum  have 
been  sent  in  a  single  year  from  Boston  to  West  Africa. 
And  some,  marking  the  devastating  effects  of  these 
importations  on  the  morals  and  health  of  the  Negroes, 
have  asked  whether  Africa  would  not  have  been  better 
off  if  the  white  man  had  never  come  there. 

It  is  true  that  the  missions  have  hardly  been  able 
to  offset  the  evils  done  by  unscrupulous  adventurers 
from  so-called  Christian  lands,  let  alone  win  the  continent 
to  the  worship  of  their  Lord.  Africa  illustrates  the 
power  of  wrong  in  Christian  lands  to  hinder  Christi- 
anity's spread  elsewhere. 

The  Moslem  advance. — With  the  loss  of  power  felt 
because  of  the  necessity  for  combating  European  evils, 
the  missionaries  now  find  themselves  facing  an  awakened 
Mohammedanism.  For  with  the  passing  of  pohtical 
authority  (see  Chapter  XXV)  there  has  come  to  Islam  a 
quickened  religious  interest.  From  the  Moslem  cities  of 
North  Africa  as  a  base,  traders  have  spread  down 
through  the  tribes  of  Central  Africa,  preaching  the  faith 
of  the  prophet  as  they  have  traveled. 

Every  Mohammedan  is  a  missionary.  The  feeble  at- 
tempts to  convert  the  Mohammedans  of  North  Africa  to 
Christianity  have  made  almost  no  impression,  but  the 
advance  of  Islam  among  the  tribes  of  the  interior  of  the 


IN  THE  DARK  CONTINENT  227 

continent  is  so  rapid  that  it  constitutes  one  of  the  greatest 
challenges  to  Christianity  in  the  world  to-day. 

What  does  the  future  hold? — Many  elements  com- 
bine to  make  the  future  of  Christianity's  enterprise  in 
Africa  difficult  to  determine.  There  are  beginnings  of 
self-assertion  among  the  Negroes,  such  as  led  to  the  Pan- 
African  Congress  that  met  recently  in  London,  Brussels, 
and  Paris,  and  resolved  that  Africa  must  be  protected 
from  further  white  encroachments.  There  are  signs  that 
all  the  states  with  colonies  in  Africa  must  take  their 
responsibihties  toward  the  welfare  of  their  native  sub- 
jects more  seriously.  There  are  vast  problems  of  the 
interrelations  of  whites  and  blacks,  in  such  sections  as 
South  Africa,  that  are  not  different  from  the  similar 
problems  in  America's  South.  There  is  the  menace  of  the 
Moslem  advance,  and  the  almost  untouched  problem  of 
Mohammedanism  along  the  Mediterranean.  And  then 
there  are  the  tribes  to  be  raised,  by  education  and  the 
introduction  of  fitting  forms  of  industry,  to  a  standard  of 
life  in  which  Christianity  can  have  some  chance  to 
function  effectively. 

It  is  anything  but  an  easy  outlook.  The  days  ahead  of 
the  Christian  workers  look  almost  as  dark  as  the  conti- 
nent once  looked  in  the  geographies.  But  the  African,  in 
many  individual  instances,  has  proved  his  capacity  for 
advance.  We  look  with  confidence  to  the  coming  of  a 
time  when  all  forces  shall  combine  to  make  him  a  free, 
self-respecting  Christian  within  a  land  he  himself 
controls. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  Why  have  European  nations  been  so  anxious  to 
stake  out  colonies  in  Africa? 

2.  Tell  the  story  of  the  republic  of  Liberia. 


228     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

3.  Locate  on  the  map  the  scene  of  Livingstone's  prin- 
cipal labors  in  Africa. 

4.  Give  in  more  detail  the  story  of  the  Stanley  expedi- 
tion to  find  Livingstone. 

5.  What  problem  is  given  Christianity  by  the  develop- 
ment of  the  diamond  and  gold  mines  of  South  Africa? 

6.  Why  has  Islam  been  able  to  advance  so  rapidly  in 
Central  Africa? 


CHAPTER  XXVII 
RELIGION  IN  LATIN-AMERICA 

Increasingly  Latin-America,  and  particularly  that 
portion  of  it  comprising  the  South  American  continent,  is 
attracting  the  attention  of  the  world.  The  only  continent 
untouched  by  the  World  War,  with  natural  resources 
still  undeveloped  that  promise  more  wealth  than  is  to  be 
found  in  any  other  part  of  the  globe,  South  America  may 
soon  engage  the  attention  of  men  as  North  America  has 
already  done. 

When  we  speak  of  Latin-America  we  have  in  mind  the 
group  of  republics  lying  south  of  the  Rio  Grande :  Mexico, 
Guatemala,  Honduras,  Salvador,  Costa  Rica,  Nicaragua, 
Panama,  Cuba,  Haiti,  San  Domingo,  Venezuela,  Brazil, 
Bolivia,  Paraguay,  Uruguay,  Argentina,  Chile,  Peru, 
Ecuador,  and  Colombia.  Here  is  an  area  almost  three 
times  as  large  as  that  of  the  United  States,  with  a 
population  of  eighty-five  million. 

Latin-America  presents  one  of  the  most  puzzling  con- 
ditions that  Christianity  faces  in  aU  the  world.  We  can 
only  seek  to  suggest  some  of  its  features  in  such  a  chapter 
as  this. 

The  Spanish  Conquests 

We  have  seen  how  the  Spaniards  came  into  the  New 
World,  blessed  with  a  dispensation  from  the  Pope  giving 
it  all  into  their  keeping.  We  have  followed  their  efforts 
to  establish  themselves  in  North  America,  and  to  some 
extent,  in  South  America  as  well  (see  Chapter  XVIII). 

In  the  footsteps  of  Pizarro. — The  interest  in  the 
229 


230     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

success  of  the  Catholic  missionaries  that  marked  the 
advance  of  Cortez  into  Mexico  was  also  characteristic  of 
the  conquistadores  who  overthrew  the  native  states  in 
South  America.  When  Pizarro  conquered  Peru  he  turned 
the  palace  of  the  Incas  over  to  the  priests  for  use  as  a 
cathedral,  and  everywhere  Catholicism  was  quick  to  set 
up  its  altars  in  the  place  of  the  discredited  native  deities. 
The  Spaniards  spread  rapidly  down  the  western  coast  of 
the  continent,  then  crossed  the  Andes  and  found  them- 
selves on  the  fertile  plains  of  what  is  now  the  Argentine 
Republic.  The  Portuguese  came  first  to  the  settlement  of 
Brazil,  but  they  were  as  careful  to  plant  CathoHcism  as 
the  Spaniards.  By  the  time  that  South  America  had 
come  under  the  rule  of  the  white  man  Catholic  Chris- 
tianity had  been  estabhshed  in  every  part  of  the  conti- 
nent. 

An  ill-fated  colony. — Protestantism  made  just  one 
effort  of  any  consequence  to  enter  South  America  in  those 
early  days,  and  that  came  to  nothing.  During  the  years 
when  the  French  Protestants  were  fighting  for  their  lives, 
their  great  leader,  Admiral  Coligny,  determined  to  send 
a  colony  of  Huguenots  to  the  New  World,  where  they 
might  prepare  a  haven  and  a  place  of  opportunity  for 
others  who  might  wish  to  escape  from  the  persecutions  of 
Europe.  In  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  ahnost 
seventy  years  before  the  Pilgrims  carried  through  to 
success  their  adventure  in  New  England,  a  colony  went 
out  to  Brazil.  Unfortunately,  the  man  to  whom  CoHgny 
had  intrusted  the  leadership  proved  unworthy.  Some  of 
the  Huguenots  were  killed,  some  escaped  into  the  forests 
where  they  lived  with  the  Indians,  a  few  made  their  way 
back  to  France  in  time  to  undergo  the  horrors  of  the 
massacre  of  Saint  Bartholomew  in  which  their  patron 
perished. 


RELIGION   IN   LATIN-AMERICA       231 

The  revolt  from  Spain  and  Portugal. — The  colonial 
records  of  Spain  and  Portugal  were  no  better  in  Latin- 
America  than  in  other  parts  of  the  world.  However,  the 
natives  were  reduced  to  such  a  pitiable  state,  and  the 
colonists  seemed  so  closely  tied  to  their  mother  countries, 
that  it  was  not  until  after  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth 
century  that  any  attempt  was  made  to  win  freedom. 
Then,  when  the  Napoleonic  wars  had  proven  the  weak- 
ness of  Spain  and  Portugal  in  Europe,  Simon  Bolivar  set 
afoot  that  long  period  of  fighting  that  really  did  not  close 
until,  in  1898,  the  defeat  of  Spain  by  the  United  States 
freed  the  last  Spanish  possessions  in  the  Caribbean. 
Most  of  the  countries  thus  liberated  became  at  once  re- 
publics, at  least  in  name.  Mexico  held  to  a  form  of 
monarchy  until  1867,  while  Brazil  kept  its  emperor  until 
1889.  Political  conditions  have,  however,  been  notori- 
ously unstable,  particularly  in  the  smaller  countries. 

The  Religious  Occupation 

Nominally,  South  America  is  a  Christian  continent. 
Except  in  the  deep  interior  it  would  be  hard  to  find  those 
who  did  not  claim  to  be  Christians.  But  in  too  many 
cases  the  Christianity  thus  espoused  bears  little  resem- 
blance to  that  taught  in  the  Bible. 

A  mixture  of  races.— There  are  many  races  mingled 
in  Latin-America.  An  estimate  made  since  the  close  of 
the  World  War  placed  the  number  of  whites  at  18,000,- 
000,  of  Indians  at  20,000,000,  of  Negroes  at  6,000,000,  of 
mixed  white  and  Indian  at  32,000,000,  of  mixed  white 
and  Negro  at  8,000,000,  of  mixed  Negro  and  Indian  at 
700,000,  with  300,000  others. 

The  whites  are,  in  many  cases,  immigrants.  Immigra- 
tion from  southern  Europe  and  Germany  has  been  heavy, 
as  is  seen  in  Argentina,  where  more  than  half  the  popula- 


232     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

tion  are  immigrants  or  the  children  of  those  who  have 
come  to  the  country  within  fifty  years.  There  have  even 
been  some  attempts  to  encourage  immigration  from  Japan. 

Some  of  the  whites  are  very  wealthy,  making  possible 
great  cities  with  a  high  standard  of  culture.  It  is  often 
claimed  that  Buenos  Ayres  is  the  most  expensive  city  in 
the  world  in  which  to  live.  But  if  a  tenth  of  the  popula- 
tion can  afford  to  live  in  luxury,  the  rest  is  in  poverty. 
There  is  almost  no  middle  class. 

Work  of  the  Catholic  Church. — With  Catholicism 
everywhere  recognized  as  the  favored  form  of  worship, 
the  ministry  of  the  church  has  been,  in  recent  years, 
more  and  more  rejected  by  the  educated,  and  has  tended 
to  play  upon  the  superstitions  and  credulities  of  the 
ignorant.  We  would  not  overlook  the  fine  services 
rendered  by  many  devoted  priests,  especially  in  the 
decades  immediately  following  the  Spanish  conquests. 
"Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  attention  given  to 
ringing  of  bells  and  swinging  of  censers,  there  is  no  ques- 
tion that  the  work  of  hundreds  of  heroic,  self-sacrificing 
missionaries,  who  taught  the  wickedness  of  cannibahsm, 
of  polygamy,  of  drunkenness,  of  idleness,  with  instruction 
of  the  men  in  the  tillage  of  the  land  and  of  the  women 
in  spinning  and  weaving,  was  a  great  uplift  to  a  heathen 
people."^ 

But  in  the  course  of  time  the  CathoUc  Church  came  to 
sufifer  from  the  lack  of  incentive  such  as  the  presence  of 
other  forms  of  worship  would  supply.  Until  recently 
Protestantism  has  been  outlawed  in  most  of  South 
America,  the  battle  for  religious  liberty  having  been  won 
in  Peru  only  five  years  ago.  So  the  priests  have  too  often 
been  content  to  allow  their  charges  to  go  on  in  ignorance, 
self-indulgence,   vice,    placing   only   a   thin   veneer   of 

*L.  M.  Hodgkins.  op.  cit.,  p.  i68. 


RELIGION   IN   LATIN-AMERICA       233 

Christian  forms  over  the  degradation  of  their  old  habits. 
The  capitals  of  Latin-America  are  studded  with  great 
cathedrals,  but  it  cannot  be  said  that  those  lands  are 
producing  even  the  type  of  piety  that  may  be  found  in 
other  CathoKc  lands  to-day. 

Protestant  beginnings. — Religious  toleration  has 
come  so  recently  and  South  America  has  been  recognized 
as  missionary  territory  so  short  a  time,  that  the  Prot- 
estant forces  have  scarcely  begun  their  work  on  that 
continent.  Of  course,  if  only  the  spiritual  needs  of  the 
Indians  who  have  not  been  reached  by  the  Catholic 
Church  were  taken  into  account,  there  would  be  a  wide 
field  of  activity.  But  it  is  realized  that  the  nominal 
adherence  of  vast  masses  can  hardly  be  reckoned  as  the 
triumph  of  Christianity  in  any  vital  form. 

Most  of  the  Protestant  work  so  far  has  centered  about 
education,  in  which  Latin-America  is  notably  backward. 
Children  frequently  come  from  Catholic  homes  to  schools 
conducted  by  evangelical  missions,  and  in  almost  every 
country  there  is  an  eager  desire,  frequently  officially 
expressed  by  the  governments,  for  the  expansion  of  this 
sort  of  work.  Government  subsidies  to  these  Protestant 
schools  are  frequent. 

The  work  of  preaching  has  just  begun.  It  is  felt  that 
there  must  be  a  vast  amount  of  preparation,  such  as  is 
supphed  by  the  schools  and  by  the  distribution  of  evan- 
gelical literature,  before  Latin -Americans  will  be  ready 
to  listen,  in  large  numbers,  to  Protestant  preaching.  It 
is  not  that  Protestantism  fears  Catholic  opposition,  but 
that  there  is  everywhere  the  apathy  of  the  educated  to 
overcome.  Before  advance  is  possible  men  of  this  class, 
who  have  turned  from  the  superficiality  of  the  old 
worship,  must  be  convinced  that  there  is  a  sound  basis 
of  reason  as  well  as  spiritual  fervor  for  the  new  message. 


234     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

The  Present  Situation 

What,  then,  does  Christianity  face  in  Latin-America? 

Undeveloped  wealth. — More  wealth  is  Hkely  to  be 
taken  from  Latin-America  in  the  next  two  centuries  than 
from  any  other  part  of  the  globe.  Many  countries  there 
have  increased  their  foreign  trade  a  hundred  per  cent 
during  the  last  five  years.  Others  are  still  virtually  un- 
touched by  modern  commerce  and  industry.  There  is 
more  fertile  land  to  be  put  under  the  plow  here  than 
anywhere  else.  "All  the  population  of  the  world  could 
find  place  here  and  be  only  one  third  as  crowded  as  is  the 
population  of  Porto  Rico."  The  states  with  great  indus- 
trial developments,  seeking  raw  materials,  are  bound  to 
look  to  South  America,  and  immigration  from  the  over- 
crowded and  war-taxed  states  of  Europe  is  also  sure  to 
increase,  unless  it  be  forbidden.  Already  statesmen  are 
speaking  of  South  America  as  "the  continent  of  the 
twenty-first  century." 

The  decay  of  faith. — It  is  disquieting  to  know  that 
Latin-America  is  entering  these  days  of  great  importance 
in  the  world's  life  without  an  adequate  foundation  of 
faith.  Those  who  are  anxious  that  the  rule  of  Christ 
should  circle  the  earth  cannot  but  be  saddened  by  the 
report  of  the  late  Viscount  Bryce:  "Both  the  intellectual 
life  and  the  ethical  standards  of  conduct  of  these  coun- 
tries seem  to  be  entirely  divorced  from  rehgion.  .  .  . 
Men  of  the  upper  or  educated  class  appear  wholly  in- 
different to  theology  and  to  Christian  worship.  It  has 
no  interest  for  them.  They  are  seldom  actively  hostile 
to  Christianity,  much  less  offensive  in  what  they  say 
about  it,  but  they  think  it  does  not  concern  them,  and 
may  be  left  to  women  and  peasants.  .  .  .  The  ministers 
of  religion  had  ceased  not  only  to  rouse  the  soul,  but  to 


RELIGION   IN   LATIN-AMERICA       235 

supply  a  pattern  for  conduct.  There  were  always  some 
admirable  men  to  be  found  among  them,  some  prelates 
models  of  piety  and  virtue,  some  friars  devoted  mis- 
sionaries and  humanely  zealous  in  their  efforts  to  protect 
the  Indians.  Still  the  church  as  a  whole  had  lost  its  hold 
on  the  conscience  and  thought  of  the  best  spirits,  and  that 
hold  it  has  never  regained.  ...  In  the  more  advanced 
parts  of  South  America  it  [the  church]  seems  to  be  re- 
garded merely  as  a  harmless  Old- World  affair  which 
belongs  to  a  past  order  of  things  just  as  much  as  does  the 
rule  of  Spain,  but  which  may,  so  long  as  it  does  not 
interfere  with  politics,  be  treated  with  the  respect  which 
its  antiquity  commands.  .  .  .  This  absence  of  a  religious 
foundation  for  thought  and  conduct  is  a  grave  mis- 
fortune for  Latin- America,"^ 

The  Christian  program. — What,  in  such  circum- 
stances, must  the  program  be  for  Christian  effort?  Surely 
the  present  activity  points  the  way.  Schools  must  be 
established  and  literature  produced  and  distributed 
until  the  minds  of  all  men  are  aroused  to  the  presence 
of  new  and  vital  mental  forces.  Discussion  must  be 
fostered.  Christianity  must  be  vindicated,  as  against 
materialism  and  as  against  formaUsm.  More  than  all 
else,  the  attempt  must  be  to  awaken  the  Catholic  Church 
to  a  sense  of  its  shortcomings  and  responsibility,  so  that 
it  shall  rouse  itself  to  the  effort  to  make  Latin-America 
Christian  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name.  It  is  a  hard  task, 
but  one  not  impossible  of  performance. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

I.  Compare  Latin-America  in  size,  population,  and 
material  resources  with  North  America. 


1  James  Bryce,  South  America,  The  Macmillan  Company,  publishers,  pp.  582,  583. 


236     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

2.  How  do  the  political  institutions  of  the  two  con- 
tinents compare? 

3.  Give  a  sketch  of  the  career  of  Simon  Bolivar. 

4.  Do  you  believe  the  establishment  of  schools  is  the 
proper  method  by  which  to  seek  to  vitalize  Christianity 
in  Latin-America?    Why? 

5.  Why  do  you  consider  the  reform  of  the  present 
Christianity  in  Latin-America  important  to  the  rest  of 
the  world? 

6.  Give  a  description  of  any  Latin-American  Chris- 
tians you  have  met,  or  of  any  Christian  work  in  Latin- 
America  of  which  you  have  read. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

OTHER  FIELDS  FOR  CHRISTIANITY'S 
ADVANCE 

In  the  six  preceding  chapters  we  have  dealt  with 
Christianity's  spread  through  some  of  the  larger  divi- 
sions of  our  modern  world.  It  is  impossible,  because  of 
our  limitations  of  space,  to  show  how  this  same  advance 
has  been  going  on  in  smaller  portions  of  the  earth.  In 
this  chapter  we  can  only  try  to  sketch  the  manner  in 
which  servants  of  Christ  have  taken  his  message  wher- 
ever civilization  has  gone. 

In  the  Wake  of  Captain  Cook 

In  the  closing  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  there 
sailed  about  the  Pacific  Ocean  that  Captain  James 
Cook  whose  discoveries  added  so  greatly  to  the  territory 
of  the  British  Empire,  and  whose  account  of  his  voyages 
awoke  the  missionary  ardor  within  William  Carey. 

The  rediscovery  of  Australia. — Captain  Cook  had 
been  preceded  in  the  southern  Pacific  by  the  Spanish  and 
Dutch,  but  their  original  discoveries  led  to  no  coloniza- 
tion or  other  development.  When,  therefore,  the  Enghsh 
navigator  claimed  the  continent,  no  counterclaims  were 
presented. 

English  colonists  were  sent  out,  and  some  spots  on  the 
coast  were  used  as  penal  colonies.  Efforts  were  soon 
made  to  reach  the  natives  with  the  gospel,  but  without 
much  success.  As  the  foreigners  came  in,  the  natives 
withdrew  to  the  bush,  as  the  wilderness  that  still  covers 
much  of  the  continent  is  called. 


238     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Such  of  the  aborigines  as  attempted  to  live  in  contact 
with  the  EngHsh  proved  unable  to  withstand  the  tempta- 
tions of  Western  civilization  and  soon  died.  The  Bush- 
men who  remain,  in  the  interior,  are  practically  un- 
touched by  Christianity.  But  Australia  has  become,  like 
the  North  American  continent,  a  white  man's  land. 
Every  effort  is  being  made  to  keep  it  that. 

Among  the  Maoris. — In  New  Zealand,  which  Cap- 
tain Cook  rediscovered  before  he  reached  Australia,  the 
story  of  Christianity's  attempt  to  reach  the  native 
Maoris  was  in  striking  contrast  to  the  attempt  in  the 
larger  island.  Work  begun  early  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury by  English  clergymen  evoked  from  the  first  a  re- 
markable response.  The  Maoris  proved  to  have  mental 
and  moral  capacity  to  stand  up  under  the  strain  of  life 
introduced  by  the  whites,  and  the  estabHshment  of 
schools  soon  provided  native  preachers  and  teachers  who 
gathered  converts  in  large  numbers. 

The  eagerness  of  the  white  man  for  land,  and  the 
natural  reluctance  of  the  native  to  surrender  his  birth- 
right, led  to  the  Maori  wars  of  the  middle  of  the  century, 
and  almost  ruined  the  work  of  the  missionaries.  Now 
the  natives  are  dying  out,  and  New  Zealand  is  as  much 
a  white  man's  land  as  Australia.  It  is  said  that  about 
half  of  such  Maoris  as  remain  are  Christians. 

The  gospel  in  the  South  Seas. — A  volume  could  be 
written  about  the  way  in  which  Christianity  has  been 
taken  to  the  peoples  of  the  South  Sea  Islands,  and  then 
the  tale  would  be  only  half  told.  There  are  something 
like  1,500  of  these  islands  scattered  about  the  southern 
Pacific,  and  to  most  of  them,  in  some  way  or  other,  the 
gospel  has  gone.  Unfortunately,  other  things  have  gone 
after  or  before  it,  and  the  result  to-day,  in  too  many  cases, 
is  a  perishing  population.    But  some  of  the  most  romantic 


OTHER  FIELDS  FOR  ADVANCE      239 

stories  in  Christian  history  tell  of  those  who  were  the  first 
messengers  of  the  cross  in  the  islands  of  the  South  Seas. 

There  was,  for  example,  John  Coleridge  Patteson,  a 
graduate  of  Cambridge  University  and  a  relative  of 
Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge,  who  went  first  to  New  Zealand, 
and  later  was  made  bishop  of  the  Melanesian  Islands. 
Bishop  Patteson  made  his  headquarters  in  the  New 
Hebrides,  and  from  thence  reached  his  scattered  diocese 
by  sailing  about  in  his  vessel,  the  Southern  Cross. 
Several  of  the  island  languages  were  reduced  to  writing 
by  him,  and  the  Bible  made  available  to  the  natives. 
Responsibility  for  his  martyr  death  must  be  laid  upon 
the  unscrupulous  whites  who  have  cursed  the  South  Seas 
rather  than  upon  the  natives. 

Approaching  one  of  the  islands  one  day  he  was  mistaken 
for  one  of  the  white  kidnappers  of  native  laborers,  who 
had  been  impersonating  missionaries  in  order  to  come 
within  reach  of  their  prey.  In  a  rage,  the  bishop  was 
killed.  Sorrow  quickly  followed  when  the  natives  dis- 
covered the  true  identity  of  their  victim.  The  bishop's 
body  was  placed  in  a  canoe  covered  with  palm-fiber 
matting,  a  palm  branch  in  his  hand,  and  was  set  adrift 
to  be  found  far  out  at  sea.  What  an  ending  for  the  career 
of  an  apostle  to  the  islands  of  the  sea! 

Tales  of  similar  devotion  could  be  told  of  John 
Williams,  who,  after  years  of  remarkable  success  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  South  Seas,  was  killed  as  he  landed  on 
one  of  the  islands  of  the  New  Hebrides,  or  of  John  G. 
Paton,  the  apostle  to  the  same  group  in  which  Williams 
met  his  death.  Many  other  consecrated  missionaries 
worked  along  with  these  leaders,  and  the  transformation 
that  they  wrought,  bringing  whole  islands  from  cannibal- 
ism to  an  ordered  and  Christian  life,  has  scarcely  been 
equaled  in  all  the  history  of  the  church. 


240     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

The  trouble  has  been  that,  while  the  missionaries  have 
gone  with  their  help,  other  white  men  have  pressed  in 
with  vice  in  most  revolting  forms.  The  people  of  the 
islands  have  generally  fallen  easy  prey  to  these  human 
vultures,  for  they  have  not,  in  their  tropical  cUmate, 
learned  the  necessity  for  hard  work.  In  summing  up  the 
career  of  Paton,  for  instance,  one  writer  has  said:  "One 
lifetime  had  sufficed  to  see  his  islanders  raised  from 
primitive  savagery  to  the  virtues  of  children  in  a  devout 
home  and  then  again  demoraUzed  and  corrupted  by  the 
contagion  of  all  the  vices  and  crimes  wherein  civiKzed 
man  so  far  outdoes  the  barbarian  and  descends  below 
the  beast.  "^ 

As  a  result,  the  native  population  is  disappearing  in 
most  of  the  South  Seas.  The  only  outstanding  exception 
is  in  the  Fiji  Islands,  where  more  than  half  the  native 
population  are  members  of  the  British  Wesleyan  Church, 
and  where  the  birth  rate  is  rising. 

America's  Island  Responsibilities 

Just  before  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  the 
United  States  of  America  assumed  responsibility  for  the 
welfare  of  important  island  groups  in  the  Pacific.  In  both 
the  Hawaiian  Islands  and  the  Philippines  there  are 
challenging  religious  problems. 

The  evangelization  of  Hawaii. — Captain  Cook  fin- 
ished his  career  as  the  discoverer  of  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
the  largest  of  which  is  Hawaii.  For  years  after  their  first 
contact  with  the  whites  the  native  sovereigns  tried  to 
transform  their  governments  so  that  they  might  retain 
control.  But  the  number  of  foreigners  steadily  grew, 
while  the  number  of  pure-blooded  natives  diminished, 
until  at  last  the  queen  gave  up  the  struggle,  a  temporary 

»E.  C.  Moore,  op.  cit.,  p.  311. 


OTHER  FIELDS  FOR  ADVANCE      241 

republic  was  established  with  a  white  as  president,  and 
finally  the  Territory  of  Hawaii  became  a  part  of  the 
United  States. 

The  missionary  work  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  was, 
from  the  beginning,  very  successful.  Although  the  battle 
with  white  vices  had  to  be  fought  here  as  elsewhere,  the 
church  proved  strong  enough  to  survive,  and  since  the 
middle  of  the  last  century  the  Christian  work  in  the 
islands  has  been  under  local  direction,  and  has  even  sent 
missionaries  to  other  parts  of  the  Pacific.  To-day  Hawaii 
is  a  sort  of  crossroads  for  that  ocean,  and  includes  in  its 
inhabitants  as  strange  an  intermingHng  of  races  as  this 
world  ever  knew.  The  presence  of  multitudes  of  Japanese 
and  Chinese,  as  well  as  un  evangelized  descendants  of 
some  of  the  native  tribes,  still  constitutes  a  missionary 
problem. 

A  new  day  in  the  Philippines. — From  the  days  of 
Magellan  to  those  of  Dewey  the  Philippine  Islands  were 
Spanish  possessions.  Spanish  colonial  administration  was 
no  m.ore  successful  in  the  Far  Pacific  than  in  Latin- 
America,  and  the  natives  grew  more  and  more  restless. 
Civil  war  had  been  in  progress  for  years  when  the  United 
States  took  over  the  islands,  pledging  independence  when 
the  inhabitants  showed  themselves  ready  to  carry  on  a 
modern  form  of  government. 

The  American  administration  in  the  Philippines  has, 
on  the  whole,  proved  one  of  the  most  successful  of  all 
attempts  at  colonial  government.  Popular  education  has 
been  fostered  by  the  United  States  to  such  a  degree  that 
the  islands,  hopelessly  illiterate  twenty-five  years  ago, 
now  rank  next  to  Japan  in  the  Far  East.  The  civil  service 
has  been  opened  so  rapidly  to  natives  that  an  over- 
whelming majority  of  the  posts  in  the  administrative, 
legislative,  and  judicial  branches,  including  the  head- 


242     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

ships  of  departments,  are  now  held  by  Filipinos.  The 
islands  are  attaining  greater  wealth  with  every  year,  and 
the  day  of  independence  seems  not  far  off. 

The  effect  of  such  a  pohtical  atmosphere  upon  the 
church  has  been  remarkable.  When  the  Spaniards  con- 
trolled the  islands  the  people  in  the  civilized  portions 
were  nominally  all  Cathohc  Christians.  It  was  a  nominal 
Christianity  of  a  low  order,  and  had  moved  some  zealous 
souls  to  found  an  independent  Filipino  church  that 
claimed  three  million  members.  Under  American  rule 
the  Protestant  churches  have  entered,  and  are  growing 
at  a  more  rapid  rate  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 
Where  there  were  no  Protestant  Christians  twenty-five 
years  ago,  to-day  there  are  a  hundred  thousand,  with 
another  half  million  in  the  Protestant  constituency. 
Many  of  these  churches  are  self-supporting.  And  the 
spiritual  life  of  the  Catholic  Church  has  been  greatly 
purified. 

Lands  Still  to  be  Reached 

Great  is  the  challenge  set  before  Christianity  in  still 
other  parts  of  the  East. 

The  riches  of  Malaysia. — Take,  for  example,  that 
group  of  islands  stretching  off  from  Singapore  toward 
Australasia.  Under  British  and  Dutch  rule,  it  holds  out 
hope  of  easy  wealth  to  any  who  will  substitute  energy  for 
the  indolence  of  its  Malay  inhabitants.  Three  hundred 
thousand  Chinese  a  year  are  rushing  into  this  garden  of 
the  East,  and  great  numbers  from  India  as  well.  Yet 
the  greater  part  of  Sumatra,  Borneo,  New  Guinea,  as 
well  as  hundreds  of  smaller  islands,  are  without  the  circle 
of  Christian  influence. 

Arabia  and  Persia. — The  homeland  of  Islam  has  been 
practically  closed  to  Christianity  until  now.     Only  a 


OTHER  FIELDS  FOR  ADVANCE      243 

very  little  Christian  work  has  been  attempted  in  Persia. 
But  now  both  Arabia  and  Persia  find  themselves  in  the 
full  tide  of  international  life,  and  both  should  soon  be  the 
scene  of  great  Christian  effort.  If  that  effort  is  to 
succeed  care  must  be  taken  that  the  relations  of  the  so- 
called  Christian  powers  with  these  states  do  not  belie  all 
the  words  of  the  missionaries. 

Afghanistan  and  Tibet. — A  hundred  years  ago  there 
were  vast  stretches  of  the  earth  which  no  Christian 
agent  could  enter  save  at  imminent  peril  of  his  Hfe.  To- 
day those  restricted  areas  have  been  wiped  out  until  they 
practically  include  no  more  than  Afghanistan  and  Tibet, 
those  two  lands  on  the  roof  of  Asia.  In  Afghanistan  no 
white  men  are  allowed,  and  so  fierce  are  those  warriors 
who  have  often  poured  down  through  the  famed  Kyber 
Pass  to  menace  northern  India  that  it  will  probably  be  a 
long  time  before  Christian  missionaries  of  any  other  race 
can  enter.  Tibet,  the  land  of  Lamaism,  a  corrupt  form 
of  Buddhism,  was  cut  off  from  all  the  rest  of  the  world 
until  a  very  few  years  ago.  Christianity  is  still  under  the 
interdict  there,  but  intrepid  missionaries  are  already 
pressing  in  on  the  heels  of  the  explorers. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  Give  an  outline  of  the  voyages  of  Captain  Cook. 

2.  Tell  in  more  detail  the  story  of  the  life  of  John  G. 
Paton. 

3.  What  can  you  discover  concerning  the  Wesleyan 
Church  in  Fiji? 

4.  What  part  did  the  sacred  cities  of  Islam  play  in 
the  World  War? 

5.  Why  do  the  results  of  that  war  make  Arabia  and 
Persia  more  accessible  to  Christian  missions? 

6.  What  can  you  find  out  about  the  religion  of  Tibet? 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

THE  AMERICAN  CHURCHES 

We  have  already  seen  how,  at  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  the  religious  life  of  America  was  at  a  low 
ebb.  Then  we  have  seen  how  the  ardent  labors  of  pioneer 
preachers,  known  as  circuit-riders,  led  in  an  awakening 
that  made  rehgion  one  of  the  potent  factors  in  the  life 
of  the  young  nation.  We  are  familiar  with  the  social  and 
political  development  that  pushed  out  the  frontiers  until 
the  republic  stretched  from  Atlantic  to  Pacific,  growing 
to  such  strength  that  it  has  become  an  acknowledged 
leader  among  all  nations.  With  this  there  has  gone  a 
development  of  the  Christian  churches  until  they  num- 
ber in  their  constituency  far  more  than  half  the  popula- 
tion and  exert  a  powerful  influence,  not  only  in  the 
domestic  affairs  of  the  United  States,  but  in  such  mis- 
sionary efforts  as  we  have  studied  in  other  lands  as  well. 

Leading  Christian  Communions 

We  have  space  only  to  mention  a  few  of  the  denom- 
inations in  the  United  States.  There  are  more  than  two 
hundred  different  religious  bodies  in  America,  but  many 
of  these  represent  minor  divisions  within  the  principal 
groups. 

The  Methodists. — As  we  know,  the  Methodists  were 
formally  organized  as  a  church  separated  from  their 
founder,  John  Wesley,  as  the  Revolutionary  War  was 
closing.  Their  growth  was  phenomenal.  Revivals  marked 
the  path  of  their  preachers,  who  did  not  stay  long  in  any 

244 


THE  AMERICAN  CHURCHES  245 

pulpit,  but  "itinerated"  from  place  to  place.  By  dividing 
up  all  their  stations  into  Conferences,  and  giving 
authority  to  their  bishops  to  fill  all  pulpits  at  the  annual 
sessions  of  these  bodies,  the  Methodists  provided  a  sys- 
tem whereby  none  of  their  churches  were  without  pastors 
and  none  of  their  pastors  without  churches.  There  have 
been  various  branchings  off  from  the  original  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  the  most  important  being  the  breach 
over  slavery  that,  fifteen  years  before  the  Civil  War, 
led  to  the  estabhshment  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South.  During  all  these  years  the  Methodists 
have  been  successful  in  reaching  the  masses,  and  to-day 
they  number  more  than  seven  million  members.  They 
are  also  taking  a  foremost  place  in  the  support  of 
education  and  in  missionary  enterprises. 

The  Baptists.— About  equal  in  members  among  the 
Protestant  bodies  are  the  Baptists,  of  whom  there  are 
now  thirteen  branches.  The  first  Baptist  congregations 
were  planted  in  New  England  soon  after  the  Puritans 
sought  those  coasts,  and  gradually  spread  toward  the 
south.  In  organization  each  Baptist  church  is  a  law  to 
itself,  and  none  are  supposed  to  be  bound  by  any  creed. 
For  years  the  Baptist  ministry  was  noted  more  for  its 
zeal  than  its  learning,  but  the  denomination  now  stands 
in  the  front  rank  in  promoting  education  and  is  supply- 
ing the  Christian  churches  of  America  with  many  leaders 
of  thought.  Baptism  by  immersion  remains  a  character- 
istic, but  there  is  increasing  liberality  in  the  relations  of 
Baptists  with  Christians  who  practice  other  forms  of 
baptism. 

The  Presbyterians.^ — The  immigration  that  came 
to  America  from  Scotland  and  the  north  of  Ireland  pro- 
vided the  backbone  for  the  strong  Presbyterian  bodies, 
of  which  there  are  twelve.   The  Presbyterians  hold  that 


246    THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

the  New  Testament  provides  for  only  one  order  in  the 
ministry,  the  presbyters,  to  whom  the  government  of  the 
churches  is  intrusted.  With  them  are  associated  the 
elders  of  the  churches.  Each  congregation  meets  as  a 
"session,"  and  elects  an  elder  who,  with  the  minister, 
represents  it  in  the  "presbytery,"  which  includes  the 
representatives  of  a  given  district.  Above  the  presbytery 
is  the  "synod,"  which  generally  is  formed  on  State  lines, 
and  above  all,  exercising  legislative  and  judicial  powers, 
is  the  "general  assembly,"  meeting  every  year.  The 
Presbyterians  have,  from  the  beginning,  championed  the 
cause  of  an  educated  ministry,  and  have  exerted  a  pro- 
found influence  in  molding  the  thought  and  guiding  the 
efforts  of  American  Protestantism. 

The  Lutherans. — There  are  sixteen  Lutheran  bodies 
in  the  United  States,  the  spiritual  descendants  of  those 
who  have  come  from  Germany  and  Scandinavia  to  the 
new  world.  Much  of  the  worship  in  Lutheran  churches, 
until  very  recently,  has  been  conducted  in  German. 
There  is  a  large  element  of  ritualism  in  Lutheran  worship, 
and  only  a  little  mingling  with  other  Protestant  forces. 

The  Episcopalians.— It  was  some  time  after  the 
Revolution  before  the  congregations  that  had  been  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  of  England  were  able  to  reconstitute 
themselves  as  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  Finally 
arrangements  were  made  whereby  American  bishops 
were  ordained  in  England,  and  the  church  has  developed 
rapidly  since.  There  are  various  groups  within  the 
Episcopalian  body,  one,  known  as  the  High  Church, 
tending  toward  a  strict  rituahsm,  one,  known  as  the 
Broad  Church,  seeking  to  emphasize  points  of  agreement 
with  all  schools  of  thought,  and  one,  known  as  the  Low 
Church,  with  a  minimum  of  liturgy  in  worship.  One 
group,  rejecting  the  theory  of  an  unbroken  line  of  ordi- 


THE  AMERICAN  CHURCHES  247 

nations  for  the  bishops  from  the  days  of  the  apostles, 
broke  away  to  form  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church. 
Although  the  Episcopalians  have  included  many  of 
wealth  and  high  social  station  within  their  ranks,  they 
have  also  produced  many  leaders  in  the  effort  to  secure 
better  social  and  economic  conditions  in  American  Hfe. 

The  Congregationalists.— The  Mayflower  brought 
Congregationahsm  to  New  England,  where  it  has  re- 
mained the  leading  form  of  worship  through  the  years. 
From  it  there  grew  the  Unitarian  school  of  thought  that 
has  exerted  such  an  influence  in  certain  quarters.  But 
by  far  the  larger  part  of  Congregationahsm,  somewhat 
under  the  influence  of  Horace  Bushnell,  stood  for  the 
historic  form  of  Christian  beHef.  In  theory,  each  Con- 
gregational church  is  independent,  and  the  ministers  only 
the  chosen  leaders  of  the  congregation.  From  the  be- 
ginning, the  Congregationalists  have  stood  for  the  highest 
possible  type  of  culture.  Their  contribution  to  the  cause 
of  foreign  missions,  through  their  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  has  been  very 
large. 

The  Disciples. — No  body  in  America  has  had  a  more 
remarkable  growth  than  the  Disciples  of  Christ,  or,  as 
they  are  sometimes  known,  the  Christian  Church. 
Founded  by  Thomas  Campbell,  a  Presbyterian  mmister 
from  Scotland,  and  pushed  most  vigorously  toward  their 
distinct  entity  by  Alexander  Campbell,  the  founder's  son, 
this  group,  after  periods  of  fellowship  with  Presbyterians 
and  Baptists,  finally  became  a  separate  denomination. 
The  church  has  had  two  aims,  the  one  to  secure  a 
restoration  of  primitive  Christianity,  and  the  other  to 
unify  the  churches.  It  has  pushed  education,  and  is 
interested  in  missions  on  a  large  scale. 

The  CathoUcs. — There  were   few   members  of   the 


248     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Roman  Catholic  Church  in  America  when  independence 
came,  but  the  rush  of  immigration  that  featured  the 
development  of  the  country  brought  with  it  thousands 
of  children  of  this  faith.  Until  1908  the  United  States 
was  regarded  as  missionary  territory,  but  since  then  has 
been  on  a  plane  of  equality  with  the  churches  of  Europe 
in  the  councils  of  the  Roman  Church,  At  the  present 
time  there  are  two  cardinals  heading  a  body  that  is 
claimed  to  contain  almost  sixteen  million  adherents.  The 
Catholic  investments  in  churches,  hospitals,  orphanages, 
schools  and  other  institutions  are  enormous.  There  are 
also  representatives  of  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church  to 
the  number  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  million. 

The  Rediscovery  of  Young  Life 

No  more  significant  fact  is  to  be  found  in  Protestant 
history  during  the  last  few  decades  than  the  attempt  to 
give  a  larger  place  to  the  training  of  young  Ufe.  Christian 
nurture  is  now  accepted  by  most  churches  as  the  most 
important  feature  of  their  work. 

The  church  school. — Instruction  of  children  began 
in  England  in  1780  in  the  classes  gathered  by  Robert 
Raikes  as  a  result  of  the  Methodist  awakening.  Before 
long,  that  which  originally  included  instruction  in  all 
elementary  subjects  narrowed  to  instruction  in  the  con- 
tents of  the  Bible,  generally  conducted  on  Sunday  by 
volunteer  teachers.  The  Sunday  school  has  had  a  won- 
derful development  in  aU  Protestant  lands,  and  is  now 
growing  rapidly  in  mission  lands.  A  convention  of  the 
World's  Sunday  School  Association  was  recently  held  in 
Tokyo,  Japan.  The  ideals  of  these  schools  have  developed 
with  the  years,  and  to-day  much  care  is  given  by  expert 
leaders  to  the  preparation  of  courses  that  shall  not  only 


THE  AMERICAN  CHURCHES  249 

instruct  in  Christian  truth  but  induct  into  Christian 
service. 

The  young  people's  societies. — During  the  closing 
years  of  the  last  century  there  arose  a  group  of  societies, 
planned  to  give  young  Christians  a  chance  to  express  their 
religious  life  in  testimony  and  service.  The  most  popular 
of  these  have  been  the  United  Society  of  Christian 
Endeavor,  the  Epworth  League,  the  Luther  League,  and 
the  Baptist  Young  People's  Union. 

Other  agencies  in  great  number  have  also  been  em- 
ployed to  win  for  the  young  a  larger  place  in  the  Protes- 
tant churches.  Clubs  for  boys  and  girls,  troops  of  Boy 
Scouts  and  Girl  Guides,  camps,  daily  vacation  Bible 
schools — these  are  but  a  few  in  a  list  almost  endless. 

Social  Implications  of  the  Gospel 

A  great  Scotchman,  Henry  Drummond,  who  combined 
a  passion  as  an  evangelist  with  a  zeal  as  a  scientist,  once 
warned  the  churches  that  they  should  stop  talking  about 
saving  souls  and  begin  to  talk  about  saving  men.  What 
he  said  pointed  the  way  for  one  of  the  great  develop- 
ments of  church  thought  and  activity  during  recent 
years. 

Charity  and  organized  philanthropy. — The  first  rec- 
ognition by  the  churches  of  social  wrongs  in  the  Ameri- 
can community  led  to  a  great  increase  in  the  number  of 
organized  philanthropies.  There  were  the  efiforts  to  aid 
the  Negroes  freed  following  the  war  between  the  States; 
to  aid  the  Indians,  who  had  too  often  been  defrauded  by 
land-hungry  whites;  to  aid  the  immigrants,  crowded  into 
the  tenement  sections  of  the  cities.  Social  settlements 
and  charity  organizations  did  much  to  relieve  suffering 
and  offer  to  the  poor  a  chance  for  advancement. 


250     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

The  struggle  for  social  justice. — It  was  not  long, 
however,  before  the  Christian  conscience  saw  that  it  was 
not  enough  to  alleviate  social  suffering  after  it  had 
occurred,  but  that  some  effort  should  be  made  to  get  at 
the  root  causes  of  such  troubles  and  eliminate  them.  So, 
in  constantly  increasing  power.  Christians  have  been 
trying  to  make  clear  the  cause  of  social  disorders  and 
secure  conditions  of  labor  and  life  that  will  offer  happi- 
ness and  opportunity  to  every  inhabitant  of  the  country. 
Thus  it  comes  that  where,  two  hundred  years  ago, 
churches  gave  their  attention  to  the  formulation  of  creeds 
of  theology,  to-day  the  Protestant  churches  that  are 
grouped  in  the  Federal  Council  of  Churches  of  Christ  in 
America  have  adopted  what  is  called  a  Social  Creed, 
caUing  for  far-reaching  reforms  in  social  and  industrial 
Kfe. 

Foreign  missions. — One  other  expression  of  this  same 
growing  sense  of  social  responsibility  is  the  increasing 
interest  in  foreign  missions.  In  all  the  efforts  to  take  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  to  other  lands,  such  as  we  have 
surveyed  in  previous  chapters,  a  large  part  has  been 
taken  by  the  churches  of  America.  There  are  to-day 
about  eleven  thousand  Protestant  missionaries  from  the 
United  States  at  work  in  other  lands.  And  this  mis- 
sionary enterprise  seeks  to  improve  the  mental  and  social 
status  of  those  whom  it  touches,  as  well  as  to  give  them 
a  better  spiritual  outlook. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  Give  a  complete  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  denom- 
ination with  which  you  are  connected. 

2.  What  are  its  methods  of  church  government? 

3.  Outline  briefly  its  educational  interests  in  America. 


THE  AMERICAN  CHURCHES  251 

4.  What  part  is  it  taking  in  the  foreign  missionary 
enterprise  ? 

5.  Give  an  outline  of  the  organization  of  the  Sunday 
school  of  which  you  are  a  member. 

6.  Select  three  important  paragraphs  from  the  Social 
Creed  of  the  Churches,  and  tell  why  you  think  them 
important. 


CHAPTER  XXX 
MODERN  CATHOLICISM 

As  we  have  traced  the  history  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  from  the  days  of  Constantine  we  cannot  but  have 
felt  the  power  of  such  a  body.  It  is  the  boast  of  that 
church  that  it  has  never  changed  in  all  the  centuries,  but 
a  careful  examination  proves  that  it  has  changed  greatly, 
both  in  the  part  it  has  played  in  society  and  in  its 
doctrine. 

In  this  chapter  we  shall  attempt  to  summarize  what 
has  happened  within  the  last  few  centuries  to  make  the 
Roman  CathoHc  Church  what  we  see  it  to  be  to-day.  In 
general,  we  shall  see  that  between  the  time  of  the 
Reformation  and  the  present  there  has  been  a  gradual 
decrease  in  the  political  power  of  Catholicism,  and  a 
growth  in  its  religious  power. 

The  Decay  of  the  Catholic  Realms 

We  recall  that,  just  before  the  Reformation,  the  Pope 
thought  he  possessed  temporal  power  sufficient  to  make 
it  possible  for  him  to  divide  all  the  new  discoveries  be- 
tween Spain  and  Portugal.  What  a  change  the  years 
have  brought! 

The  Pope's  loss  of  temporal  authority. — Strongly  as 
the  Catholic  Church  rebounded  from  the  shock  of  the 
Protestant  Reformation,  it  proved  weak  before  the  rise 
of  that  spirit  of  doubt  that  marked  Europe  during  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  With  the  out- 
break of  the  French  Revolution  the  church  was  swept  out 

252 


MODERN  CATHOLICISM  253 

of  existence  in  one  of  its  strongholds.  When  Napoleon 
restored  order  and  made  his  empire  the  mightiest  power 
on  the  continent,  he  recognized  Catholicism  as  the 
religion  of  the  majority  of  his  subjects  only  at  the  price 
of  a  complete  political  submission  by  the  Pope.  Napoleon 
did  not  hesitate  to  hold  the  Pope  as  a  prisoner,  and  to 
confiscate  the  papal  states  in  Italy. 

After  the  downfall  of  Napoleon  the  Popes  came  back 
to  a  brief  authority,  but  this  could  not  persist  in  the  face 
of  the  rise  of  democratic  ideas  that  broke  out  again  in 
Europe  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  In  Italy  this 
movement  kept  at  work  until,  by  1870,  the  country  was 
entirely  freed  from  outside  domination,  the  various  states 
united  in  one  kingdom,  and  the  Pope  a  self-made 
prisoner  within  the  Vatican  palace  in  Rome.  All  the 
papal  states,  with  the  exception  of  the  ground  included 
in  the  Vatican  and  Saint  Peter's  Church,  together  with 
another  church  and  a  castle  just  outside  Rome,  have  been 
taken  from  the  rule  of  the  Pope. 

Catholic  countries  lose  power. — While  the  papacy 
itself  has  been  declining  in  temporal  authority,  the  states 
upon  which  it  has  relied  most  strongly  for  support  have 
been  shpping  to  the  rear  in  the  family  of  nations.  Spain 
and  Portugal,  once  so  strong,  are  now  almost  negligible 
as  international  factors.  Austria,  for  years  the  center  of 
the  Holy  Roman  Empire  and  chief  support  of  the  Pope, 
is,  as  a  result  of  the  World  War,  reduced  to  a  petty  state. 
The  governments  of  France  and  Italy  have  no  official 
connection  whatever  with  the  Catholic  Church.  In  fact, 
the  record  of  the  last  century  seems  to  be  that  if  a 
country  has  remained  resolutely  Catholic  it  has  lost 
political  power,  and  if  it  has  held  or  gained  political 
power  its  leaders  have  increasingly  cut  loose  from 
Catholicism.    An  interesting  sidelight  on  this  tendency 


254     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

was  thrown  when  Bismarck,  striving  to  make  a  great 
empire  of  Germany,  did  all  in  his  power  to  circumscribe 
the  strength  of  the  CathoUcism  remaining  in  south 
Germany. 

The  present  situation. — To-day,  therefore,  we  see 
the  states  in  which  CathoHcism  is  legally  established  as 
the  national  religion  of  diminishing  importance  in  the 
world,  and  the  Pope  shorn  of  all  significance  as  a  tem- 
poral ruler.  It  is  possible  that  the  Italian  government,  in 
an  effort  to  eliminate  one  disturbing  element  from  its 
internal  situation,  may  effect  some  compromise  whereby 
a  slight  measure  of  temporal  authority  may  be  restored 
to  the  Pope.  But  it  seems  certain  that  the  day  in  which 
the  Vatican  might  exercise  great  temporal  power  is  gone. 

The  Growth  of  the  Papal  Power 

But  while  the  Pope  has  been  losing  authority  of  one 
kind,  he  has  been  gaining  power  in  another,  and  perhaps 
more  important,  realm.  The  millions  who  acknowledge 
the  religious  rule  of  the  bishop  of  Rome  now  accord  him 
a  spiritual  authority  beyond  that  claimed  even  in  the 
Middle  Ages. 

Development  of  Catholic  doctrine. — In  the  midst 
of  the  democratic  uprisings  of  the  nineteenth  century  the 
Pope  came  to  feel  that  the  fortunes  of  a  church  that 
claimed  to  be  "always  without  change"  depended  upon  a 
strongly  conservative  policy.  Hence,  about  the  middle  of 
the  century,  the  Pope  did  what  no  previous  occupant  of 
the  throne  of  Saint  Peter  had  ever  dared  to  do.  He 
formulated  a  doctrine  as  a  dogma  of  the  church  which 
could  not  be  doubted  without  peril  to  the  soul.  Always 
in  the  past  the  formulation  of  such  doctrines  had  been  in 
the  hands  of  church  councils,  where  leaders  of  thought 
from  all  quarters  could  express  their  opinions.   But  now 


MODERN  CATHOLICISM  255 

the  Pope  claimed  authority  to  do  this.  And  the  church 
acknowledged  the  validity  of  his  act! 

Less  than  twenty  years  later,  at  the  very  time  Garibaldi 
and  Cavour  were  eliminating  the  Pope  as  a  civil  ruler  in 
Italy,  a  church  council  was  called,  and  at  this  the  final 
step  toward  establishing  the  spiritual  supremacy  of  the 
pontiff  was  taken.  It  was  voted  that  whenever  the  Pope 
speaks  on  a  matter  of  faith  or  morals  his  words  are 
infallible!  There  was  some  protest,  but  not  sufficient  to 
shake  the  readiness  of  the  church  as  a  whole  to  accept  the 
doctrine.  Upon  it  rests  the  spiritual  dictatorship  of  the 
Pope  over  millions  to-day. 

Increase  in  Catholic  populations. — In  the  mean- 
time, the  Catholic  population  of  the  world  has  grown.  In 
such  a  country  as  the  United  States,  where  the  Cathohc 
element  was  insignificant  at  the  formation  of  the  re- 
public, immigration  has  increased  it  to  the  point  where  it 
equals  a  seventh  of  the  population.  Belgium,  which  be- 
came independent  in  1830,  is  predominantly  CathoHc. 
The  states  that  won  their  freedom  in  Central  and  South 
America  are  Catholic.  About  seven  milhons  who  were 
formerly  within  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church  now  recog- 
nize the  supremacy  of  the  Pope,  although  they  retain 
their  Greek  rites.  An  equal  number  of  converts  are  said 
to  have  been  baptized  in  Africa  and  Asia.  The  nominal 
Roman  Catholic  population  of  the  world  to-day  is  almost 
three  hundred  milHon. 

In  saying  this,  however,  it  is  necessary  to  bear  in  mind 
that,  in  many  Catholic  countries,  there  are  large  elements 
of  the  population  out  of  sympathy  with  the  church.  This 
is  true  in  France  and  Italy  to  a  striking  degree.  Equally 
is  it  the  case  in  Mexico  and  parts  of  South  America. 
Elements  of  the  same  dissatisfaction  are  to  be  found 
even  in  Portugal  and  Spain.   The  disquieting  fact  is  that 


256     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

as  these  groups  drift  away  from  Catholicism  they  drift 
into  a  practical  atheism,  or,  at  the  best,  agnosticism. 

Policy  of  the  recent  Popes. — In  Pius  IX  and  Leo 
XIII,  who  reigned  over  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
during  a  large  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  two  men  of 
large  ability  came  to  power.  The  former,  when  elected, 
had  the  reputation  of  being  a  progressive,  but  the  end  of 
his  reign  found  the  church  totally  divorced  from  the  pro- 
gressive movements  of  the  age.  Leo  XIII  and  his  suc- 
cessors have  followed  the  policy  of  conservatism. 
Obedience  is  still  the  prized  virtue  in  Catholics.  Indepen- 
dent thought  is  repressed,  particularly  in  the  religious 
realm.  A  study  of  the  edicts  of  recent  Popes  shows  that 
the  most  important  are  concerned  with  stamping  out 
what  has  been  called  "modernism,"  by  which  is  meant 
any  scientific  and  historical  study  comparable  to  that 
which  has  so  transformed  Protestantism  in  the  past  few 
decades.  Thomas  Aquinas,  that  epitome  of  the  thought 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  remains  the  model  of  Catholic 
thinking. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Pope  recently  deceased, 
Benedict  XV,  showed  a  desire  to  reenter  the  field  of 
popular  politics  on  the  part  of  the  church.  At  the  time 
of  his  death  he  was  tending  toward  an  understanding 
with  the  Italian  monarchy  that  might  have  brought  to  an 
end  the  fiction  of  imprisonment  in  the  Vatican  and  have 
launched  the  church  on  a  new  political  career.  It  remains 
to  be  seen  to  what  measure  Pius  XI  will  develop  this 
policy. 

The  Future  or  the  Catholic  Church 

Any  prophecy  as  to  the  future  of  institutions  is,  in 
these  days,  difficult.  Especially  is  this  true  of  those 
which  have  their  roots  deep  in  the  life  of  Europe.    But 


MODERN  CATHOLICISM  257 

there  are  some  problems  that  Roman  Catholicism  must 
inevitably  meet,  and  we  may,  with  propriety,  study 
what  the  outcome  is  likely  to  be. 

Catholicism  and  democracy. — For  more  than  a  cen- 
tury the  Catholic  Church  has  been  dealing  with  peoples 
stirred  by  democratic  movements.  These  will  increase 
rather  than  decrease.  And  they  will  take  varying  forms. 
It  cannot  be  said  that  Catholicism  has  been  fortunate  in 
its  dealings  with  democracy  in  the  past.  In  Latin- 
America,  in  France,  and  in  Italy,  as  democracy  has  in- 
creased, so  has  the  breach  between  the  national  leaders 
and  the  church.  What  will  be  the  outcome  in  Ireland, 
where  we  see  now  the  formation  of  an  Irish  Free  State, 
most  of  the  leaders  of  which  are  devout  sons  of  the 
church?  Or  in  the  United  States,  whence  come  a  large 
share  of  the  revenues  that  support  the  papal  court?  Or  in 
the  Catholic  countries  of  Europe,  as  the  revolutionary 
tendencies  of  the  present  penetrate?  Is  it  possible  for  a 
religious  absolutism  to  exist  in  comfort  with  a  political 
democracy  or  socialism?  It  seems  that  Cathohcism  must 
either  prove  that  it  is  possible — something  it  has  not  been 
able  to  do  in  the  past — or  make  readjustments  in  its  own 
life  allowing  for  a  greater  degree  of  incorporation  with 
popular  movements. 

Catholicism  and  government. — In  attempting  to 
adjust  itself  to  a  democratic  era,  the  Catholic  Church 
must  wrestle  with  inner  tendencies  nourished  by  its 
past.  The  democratic  peoples  are  clear  in  their  deter- 
mination to  keep  the  functions  of  state  and  church  sep- 
arate. Catholicism  must  accept  that  separation,  or  it 
will  suffer  more  than  the  state  in  the  effort  to  end  it. 
Recent  attempts  by  the  papacy  to  influence  the  affairs 
of  government,  such  as  the  launching  of  the  Popular 
party  in  Italy,  have  shown  that  Catholicism  is  not  yet 


258     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

ready  to  give  up  this  cause.  If  the  attempt  to  interfere 
as  a  church  in  poHtical  matters  persists,  the  democratic 
peoples  will  not  evade  the  issue. 

Catholicism  and  liberal  thought. — At  present  the 
modernists  seem  sternly  repressed  within  the  Catholic 
Church.  Can  they  be  kept  so?  Can  the  church  continue 
indifferent  to  the  vast  new  stores  of  truth  that  are,  year 
by  year,  being  opened  to  students  of  the  Bible,  of  church 
history,  of  science?  In  past  centuries  the  authorities  of 
this  church  forced  Gahleo  to  retract  and  rejected  the 
teachings  of  Copernicus,  but  that  served  only  to  under- 
mine the  authority  of  the  church  when  the  truth  became 
generally  known.  To-day  Catholicism  feels  a  pervasive 
uneasiness  among  its  intelligent  sons  in  many  lands. 
What  will  it  do?  It  seems  clear  that  it  must  either  find  a 
working  basis  with  the  modern  intellectual  processes,  or 
it  must  resign  itself  to  a  constant  loss  of  power  as 
popular  education  advances. 

The  function  of  Catholicism. — What  part,  then, 
may  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  play  in  the  future?  If 
it  accepts  reform,  a  great  and  helpful  part.  For  there  will 
always  be  those,  particularly  among  the  Latins,  and  per- 
haps in  parts  of  the  East,  who  will  respond  to  the  color 
of  a  worship  that  makes  its  appeal  largely  through  re- 
ligious symbolism,  provided  it  does  not  flout  their 
intellectual  capacity  at  the  same  time.  But  if  it  fails  to 
align  itself  with  modern  forces,  Catholicism  will  stand  as 
the  last  bulwark  of  traditionalism,  rallying  the  forces  who 
face  toward  the  past  for  a  few  centuries  more,  until  its 
strength  is  utterly  gone.   May  it  choose  the  larger  part! 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

I.  In  what  countries  are  a  majority  of  the  inhab- 
itants at  present  Catholics? 


MODERN  CATHOLICISM  259 

2.  What  can  you  tell  about  the  state  of  popular  edu- 
cation in  these  countries? 

3.  Give  an  outline  of  the  papacy  of  Pius  IX. 

4.  Why  does  the  Pope  call  himself  "the  prisoner  of 
the  Vatican"? 

5.  Do  you  think  that  the  Worid  War  will  have  any 
effect  upon  the  fortunes  of  the  Catholic  Chiuch? 

6.  In  what  way  is  the  power  of  the  Pope  increasing? 
Decreasing  ? 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

HOW  CHRISTIANITY  IS  SPREAD 

We  have  tried  to  review  briefly  the  expansion  of  Chris- 
tianity to  the  present,  showing  how  its  missionaries  have 
penetrated  all  continents,  until  there  remains  scarcely 
a  country  in  which  the  word  of  Jesus  has  not  been  heard. 
To-day  we  see  these  missionary  enterprises  conducted 
on  a  larger  scale  than  ever  before.  It  is  well  for  us  to 
understand  how  these  thousands  of  missionaries  are 
directed  and  supported. 

The  Missionary  Societies 

The  societies  that  control  most  of  the  efforts  of  Chris- 
tendom to  spread  its  message  are  comparatively  recent 
institutions.  But  they  exert  immense  influence,  and  do 
so  very  wisely. 

The  Catholic  plan  of  campaign. — As  the  work  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  new  lands  grew  (see 
Chapter  XIV)  the  necessity  of  holding  its  missionaries 
to  some  central  plan  became  clear,  and  the  Pope 
founded  a  Congregation  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Faith,  which  remains  to  this  day  in  control  of  Catholic 
missions.  All  the  orders,  such  as  the  Jesuits,  the  Fran- 
ciscans, the  Dominicans,  the  Augustinians,  are  required 
to  conduct  their  efforts  along  the  lines  laid  down  by  this 
Congregation,  which  has  its  headquarters  in  Rome. 
Some  idea  of  the  control  exerted  is  given  by  the  fact  that 
the  United  States  was  conceived  as  requiring  the  super- 
vision of  this  body  until  as  recently  as  1908. 

260 


HOW  CHRISTIANITY  IS  SPREAD      261 

The  British  societies. — The  first  prominent  Protes- 
tant missionary  society  to  be  founded  was  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  which 
remains  the  body  through  which  the  high-church  party 
within  the  Church  of  England  exerts  its  missionary 
influence.  It  has  been  reenforced  by  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society,  representing  the  low-church  group 
within  the  same  church.  William  Carey  went  to  India 
as  the  first  representative  of  the  Baptist  Mission  Society 
of  Great  Britain,  and  the  London  Missionary  Society, 
acting  for  the  Congregational  churches,  bears  on  its  rolls 
such  names  as  Robert  Morrison  and  David  Livingstone. 
There  are  societies  representing  practically  every  Prot- 
estant body  in  England,  and  the  Scotch  societies  have 
been  notable  in  the  character  of  the  men  they  have  pro- 
vided for  the  missionary  enterprise. 

American  bodies. — Three  students  in  WilHams  Col- 
lege, holding  a  prayer  meeting  under  a  haystack  in  1806, 
resolved  to  form  a  society  the  object  of  which  would  be 
*'to  effect  in  the  person  of  its  members  a  mission  to  the 
heathen."  The  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Missions  was  the  result,  a  society  that  at  first 
directed  the  missionary  work  of  three  churches,  but  now 
represents  only  the  Congregationalists  of  America. 

The  American  Baptist  Missionary  Union  soon  followed, 
to  send  the  great  pioneer  Judson  to  Burma.  Then,  in 
rapid  succession,  all  the  principal  Protestant  denomina- 
tions formed  their  societies  and  began  sending  abroad 
their  workers.  More  than  sixty  such  bodies  now  form 
the  Foreign  Missions  Conference  of  North  America. 

Some  did  not  begin  with  missionary  work  on  other 
continents.  The  missionary  work  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  for  example,  traces  back  to  the  efforts 
of  a  Negro  lay  preacher  to  convert  a  tribe  of  Wyandot 


262     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Indians  on  the  Upper  Sandusky  in  Ohio.  In  size  the 
missions  supported  by  the  American  churches  now  out- 
rank those  of  aU  the  rest  of  the  world  combined. 

Other  organizations. — The  Protestants  of  Continen- 
tal Europe  have  done  their  part  in  spreading  the  gospel. 
The  Huguenots  of  to-day,  through  their  Paris  Evangel- 
ical Missionary  Society,  have  done  a  fine  work  in  South 
Africa  among  the  Hottentots  and  in  the  French  posses- 
sions in  that  continent.  Before  the  World  War  several 
German  societies  were  at  work  in  many  parts  of  the 
world.  Even  the  small  Protestant  church  in  Belgium 
managed,  when  the  Congo  came  under  Belgian  control, 
to  plant  a  mission  there. 

Many  continental  Protestants  have  supported  the 
work  of  the  China  Inland  Mission,  a  body  founded  by 
Hudson  Taylor  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century  to  carry 
the  gospel  into  the  interior  parts  of  China.  The  China 
Inland  Mission  is  interdenominational  and  international, 
drawing  its  workers  from  many  lands  and  many  churches. 
It  has  done  a  remarkable  pioneer  work,  and  may  take 
much  credit  for  the  manner  in  which  China  is  open  to 
Christianity  to-day. 

Other  bodies  at  work  without  the  denominations  to 
spread  the  Christian  message  are  the  Bible  societies,  of 
which  the  most  important  are  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society,  the  American  Bible  Society,  and  the  Bible 
Society  of  Scotland.  The  first  named  had,  by  1916, 
translated  the  Bible  into  497  languages,  and  the  American 
body  had  versions  in  169  languages  available.  These 
societies  have  circulated  more  than  500,000,000  copies 
of  the  Scriptures  within  a  century,  and  expended  more 
than  $100,000,000. 

Very  recently  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
and  the  Young  Women's   Christian  Association  have 


HOW  CHRISTIANITY  IS  SPREAD      263 

entered  upon  work  in  non-Christian  lands.     Both  are 
earning  a  large  measure  of  success. 

How  A  Missionary  Society  Works 

It  is  of  more  value,  however,  to  know  how  these 
societies  work  than  to  call  the  roll  of  their  names.  There 
is  nothing  haphazard  about  the  way  in  which  they  are 
trying  to  spread  the  gospel  throughout  the  world.  While 
the  administration  of  the  societies  differs  in  details,  the 
main  outlines  of  their  work  are  the  same.  We  will 
describe  the  working  of  one  actual  body. 

The  society's  constituency. — This  missionary  so- 
ciety exists  to  carry  on  the  work  which  the  members  of 
a  certain  denomination  desire  to  support  in  non-Chris- 
tian lands.  It  obtains  its  revenue,  which  is  now  a  little 
less  than  $6,000,000  a  year,  from  this  constituency,  and 
to  this  group  it  must  report  annually.  It  prepares  much 
literature  to  keep  interest  aroused,  and  knows  always 
that  the  carrying  through  of  its  plans  depends  upon  the 
measure  of  support  received  from  the  four  miUion  people 
in  this  group. 

The  society's  control. — This  constituency  provides 
for  the  control  of  the  society  by  means  of  a  "board," 
which  consists  of  about  a  hundred  persons,  some  of  them 
ministers  and  some  laymen.  This  body  meets  annually, 
hears  reports  of  the  work  of  the  year  previous,  votes 
what  money  shaU  be  spent  during  the  year  to  come 
(basing  these  appropriations  on  the  amount  received  in 
the  previous  year),  and  provides  the  necessary  officers 
and  committees  for  carrying  out  the  policies  approved. 

The  society's  management. — Under  this  board  there 
work  the  administrative  officers.  These  are,  in  this  case, 
two  "corresponding  secretaries"  who  act  as  the  general 
administrative  leaders.    Under  them  are  assistants,  each 


264     THE   SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

charged  with  responsibihty  for  knowledge  of  what  is 
being  done  in  certain  fields.  Thus,  one  assistant  looks 
after  the  work  in  China,  one  after  India,  one  after  Africa, 
and  so  on.  Then  there  is  one  man  at  the  head  of  the 
department  that  seeks  proper  candidates  for  the  mis- 
sionary force  and  examines  those  who  offer  themselves 
for  this  exacting  service.  Another,  a  doctor,  heads  a 
department  that  examines  these  candidates  to  see 
whether  they  can  stand  up  under  the  physical  strain  of 
the  mission  field,  and  has  charge  of  the  health  of  the 
missionaries  already  at  work.  Another  man  has  charge 
of  the  preparation  of  the  hterature  that  is  to  keep  alive 
the  interest  of  the  constituency.  Another  looks  after  the 
sending  of  missionaries  and  materials  to  the  fields. 
Another  cares  for  the  legal  interests  of  the  society,  an 
important  matter  in  view  of  the  enormous  amount  of 
property  controlled  in  many  lands  and  the  bequests  that 
are  frequently  made  to  such  a  body.  Finally,  one  man, 
the  treasurer,  heads  an  extensive  department  that  looks 
after  the  financial  interests  of  the  society. 

Not  only  do  these  officers  frequently  consult  among 
themselves  as  to  the  proper  method  of  conducting  their 
work,  but  they  meet  at  least  once  a  year  with  the  officers 
of  other  societies,  both  from  the  United  States  and 
Canada,  in  the  Foreign  Missions  Conference  of  North 
America,  and  there  the  responsibihties  of  the  churches 
are  faced  as  a  whole.  Thus  it  comes  that  increasingly 
the  missionary  boards  are  acting  as  bodies  cooperating 
in  one  great  task,  rather  than  as  competitors. 

The  society's  forces. — Having  planned  what  part  it 
shall  bear  in  the  enterprise  of  spreading  Christianity  in 
other  lands,  the  society  sends  its  representatives  abroad. 
In  the  case  of  the  particular  body  that  furnishes  our  ex- 
ample, its  first  missionary  went  to  Africa  in  1833.  To-day 


HOW  CHRISTIANITY  IS  SPREAD      265 

it  has  workers  in  more  than  thirty  countries.  Some  of 
these  give  most  of  their  time  to  preaching  or  the  direction 
of  native  preachers.  Even  more  work  as  teachers  in 
schools  of  many  different  kinds.  Many  are  doctors  or 
nurses.  Some  are  producing  Christian  literature.  Some 
seek  to  improve  the  industrial  and  agricultural  methods 
of  the  country  in  which  they  are  stationed.  Some  give 
themselves  to  the  intricate  details  of  a  business  of  such 
magnitude.  Altogether  this  society  has  1,133  missionaries 
at  work,  and  a  woman's  society  connected  with  the  same 
church  supports  575  more.  With  these  work  more  than 
16,000  preachers,  teachers,  and  other  workers  who  are 
natives  of  the  countries  in  which  the  society  is  planted. 

Laying  Out  the  General  Plan 

Great  as  are  the  efforts  being  made  by  the  churches  to 
spread  Christianity  throughout  the  world,  the  size  of  the 
task  is  so  great  that  Christian  leaders  have  come  to  see 
that  they  must  carefully  distribute  their  forces.  Other- 
wise there  will  be  concentrations  of  effort  in  some  places 
while  others  are  deserted.  Thus  the  spirit  of  cooperation 
in  mission  work  grows  among  the  Protestant  bodies 
every  year. 

Edinburgh,  1910. — The  most  striking  evidence  of 
this  up  to  the  present  was  the  convening  in  Edinburgh 
in  1 9 10  of  representatives  from  practically  every  Prot- 
estant church  in  the  world,  where  a  general  program  for 
the  capture  of  the  world  was  worked  out.  The  outbreak 
of  the  war,  with  its  disruption  of  Europe,  seriously  in- 
terfered with  the  complete  carrying  out  of  the  processes 
begun  at  Edinburgh,  but  the  churches  are  now  hard  at 
work  to  repair  the  damage  to  their  plans.  An  Inter- 
national Missionary  Association  has  been  formed  that  is 
helping  to  enhst  in  a  new  united  advance,  and  it  will  not 


266     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

be  long  before  a  world  conference  similar  to  that  of  1910 
will  convene. 

On  many  of  the  large  mission  fields,  as  well,  there  are 
now  bodies  that  carefully  study  the  needs  and  then 
advise  the  churches  as  to  where  they  can  throw  their 
energies  with  most  effect  and  without  overlapping  efforts 
already  being  made.  So  that,  the  world  over,  the 
Protestant  forces  are  coming  more  and  more  to  act  as 
one  army,  aU  working  toward  a  common  victory. 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1.  On  a  map  of  the  world,  indicate  the  countries  in 
which  the  missionary  society  of  the  church  with  which 
you  are  connected  has  work. 

2.  Give  a  resume  of  the  work  done  by  this  society 
during  the  past  five  years. 

3.  On  the  average,  how  much  do  the  members  of  the 
church  give  annually  for  the  support  of  this  society? 

4.  Describe  the  organization  of  the  society,  and  name 
some  of  its  leaders  and  missionaries. 

5.  What  qualities  do  you  think  are  needed  to  make  a 
successful  missionary? 

6.  What  do  you  consider  "intelligent  support"  for  the 
missionary  enterprise  by  an  American  Christian? 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

CHRISTIANITY  TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW 

Do  you  remember  that  parting  command  of  the  Christ 
that  we  quoted  as  we  began  this  book?  "Go  ye  therefore, 
and  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations,  baptizing  them, 
.  .  .  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I 
commanded  you"  (Matt.  28.19).  It  is  now  fitting  for  us, 
summing  up  the  facts  in  the  previous  chapters,  to  de- 
termine how  far  the  Christian  Church  has  carried  out 
this  injunction,  and  how  much  remains  to  be  done. 

Baptizing  All  Nations 

We  began  our  study  with  the  days  of  the  Emperor 
Constantine.  What  an  extension  of  the  Christian  mes- 
sage there  has  been  since  then! 

Since  the  days  of  Constantine. — When  Christi- 
anity, after  more  than  three  hundred  years  of  suffering 
and  effort,  became  the  favored  reUgion  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  it  found  itself  established  in  the  lands  around 
the  Mediterranean.  To  the  men  of  those  days  that 
seemed  a  tremendous  triumph,  for  outside  that  territory 
there  were  thought  to  be  nothing  but  barbarians. 

But  on  our  modern  maps  of  the  world  the  territory 
held  by  Christianity  sixteen  hundred  years  ago  seems 
small.  The  Mediterranean  looks  like  some  inland  lake. 
And  we  see  that  to-day  some  form  of  Christianity 
prevails  in  most  of  Europe,  North  America,  South 
America,  Australia,  and  Siberia,  with  flourishing  Chris- 

267 


268     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

tian  churches  growing  in  other  parts  of  Asia  and 
Africa. 

There  are  more  Christians  to-day  in  the  lands  we  call 
non-Christian  than  there  were  in  the  whole  Roman 
Empire  at  the  close  of  the  first  Christian  century !  There 
are  only  four  small  countries  left,  in  interior  Asia,  from 
which  the  gospel  is  excluded! 

A  Christian  civilization. — Of  even  greater  impor- 
tance is  the  fact  that  millions  of  people  are  living  in  a 
civilization  that  is  largely  influenced  by  Christianity. 

Not  all  the  people  in  the  United  States,  for  example, 
claim  to  be  Christians.  But  all  of  them  have  the  advantage 
of  living  under  a  civilization  that  has  a  Christian  back- 
ground, even  if  they  are  ignorant  of  that  fact.  Even  if 
we  pay  no  attention  to  the  influence  of  the  churches  in 
securing  peace  and  order,  there  remain  the  schools,  the 
hospitals,  the  homes  for  children  and  for  other  needy,  the 
charity  organizations,  all  characteristics  of  Christian 
lands. 

The  historians  have  testified  that  popular  education 
owes  its  origin  to  the  church.  Philanthropic  institutions 
are  by-products  of  Christianity.  One  fact  alone  sets  off 
the  Western  world  to-day  from  that  of  the  time  of 
Constantine:  slavery  has  ceased  to  be  a  legal  institution. 

One  mark  of  the  distance  we  have  traveled  in  these 
centuries  is  given  by  a  conference  of  the  leading  nations, 
such  as  that  recently  held  at  Washington,  where  the 
effort  to  diminish  the  chances  of  international  conflict 
was  begun  and  ended  with  Christian  prayer. 

The  task  remaining. — Yet,  in  saying  this,  we  do  not 
mean  to  hint  that  the  task  left  Christians  by  their  Master 
is  done,  or  nearly  done.  A  recent  estimate  of  the  world's 
population,  divided  according  to  their  rehgious  affilia- 
tions, shows: 


Q  O 


l-H     O 
t-H    ^ 

^  s 

t/5    I 

o  s 

Si 

Xi.-a§ 
W  .3o. 

o.S 


5fc 

c8 


PERCENTAGE 

34-2 

i8 

3 

13 

44 

12 

8 

9 

7 

8 

4 

I 

5 

74 

92 

TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW  269 

ADHERENTS 

Christians 565,000,000 

Taoists  and  Conf ucianists .  .  .  .  301,000,000 

Mohammedans 222,000,000 

Hindus 211,000,000 

Animists 158,000,000 

*Buddhists 138,000,000 

Shintoists 25,000,000 

Jews 12,000,000 

Unclassified 15,000,000 

The  Protestant  churches  have  about  20,000  mission- 
aries at  work  among  these  miUions,  and  it  is  probable 
that  the  Roman  and  Greek  Catholic  Churches,  taken 
together,  have  as  many  more.  But  the  most  conservative 
figures  show  that  there  are  at  least  160,000,000  people 
left  in  the  world  who  are  entirely  beyond  the  present  out- 
reach of  Christianity!  When  we  read  facts  of  this  kind 
we  see  the  daring  in  the  motto  of  the  Christian  students 
of  to-day:  "The  evangelization  of  the  world  in  this 
generation!" 

Making  Christ  the  King  of  All  Life 

But  while  there  remain  great  victories  to  be  won  before 
Christianity  can  be  said  to  have  spread  through  all  the 
world,  there  are  other  and  more  vital  conquests  needed 
in  making  the  rule  of  Christ  pervasive  in  the  lands  already 
nominally  Christian.  If  Christianity  must  still  be  spread 
extensively,  it  must  also  be  spread  intensively. 

The  danger  of  formal  religion. — For  one  thing, 
Christianity  must  guard  against  becoming  a  formality. 
The  ritual  of  worship,  as  it  has  grown  through  the  cen- 
turies, is  a  noble  thing,  able  to  stir  deep  emotions  in 

*  The  division  of  the  400,000,000  Chinese  between  Confucianists,  Buddhists  and 
Taoists  is  rough.     The  average  Chinese  is,  to  some  extent,  affected  by  all  three. 


270     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

many.  But  the  performance  of  a  ritual,  with  whatever 
grandeur,  can  never  fulfill  the  religious  purposes  of  Jesus. 
**God  is  spirit,"  he  said,  "and  they  that  worship  him 
must  worship  in  spirit  and  truth"  (John  4.24). 

We  say  that  there  are  about  272,000,000  Roman 
Catholic  Christians  in  the  world,  about  172,000,000 
Protestant  Christians,  about  120,000,000  Greek  Orthodox 
Christians.  But  does  this  mean  that  all  these  know  the 
worship  of  God  as  a  vital  force  to  order  their  lives?  We 
know  that  to  too  many  in  Europe,  in  South  America,  and 
even  in  our  own  country,  being  a  Christian  means  only 
adherence  to  certain  forms  of  churchgoing.  And  one 
immediate  task,  if  a  world  in  sad  need  is  to  be  helped,  is 
to  make  all  churches  vital  centers  of  religious  energy,  and 
all  Christians  men  who  not  only  call  Jesus  their  Lord, 
but  do  what  he  commands. 

Can  politics  be  Christian? — Another  great  struggle 
that  the  Christian  forces  are  just  entering  upon  is  that  to 
make  all  the  poHtical  relations  of  men  conform  to  the 
spirit  of  Jesus.  We  have  studied  the  attempt  of  Calvin, 
in  the  early  days  of  Protestantism,  to  make  Geneva  a 
city  for  God  (see  Chapter  XVI).  That  same  attempt  is 
being  made  now,  and  must  be,  until  not  only  our  cities 
but  our  states  and  our  nations  and  our  international 
relations  are  conducted  as  in  the  sight  of  God.  No  man 
will  claim  that  we  have  reached  that  goal  yet,  but  we 
have  set  out  toward  it. 

The  noblest  statesmen  of  the  present,  those  whose 
work  will  live,  are  those  who  are  seeking  to  rule  in  accord 
with  the  principles  of  Christ.  Even  the  World  War,  with 
its  revelation  of  the  shallowness  of  much  of  the  poHtical 
Life  that  we  had  thought  Christian,  has  helped  to  rouse 
many  to  seek  this  new  goal. 

It  seems  as  though  the  church  was  just  at  the  be- 


TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW  271 

ginning  of  a  new  crusade.  It  will  be  a  crusade  to  do  away 
with  force  and  deceit  and  selfishness  as  ruling  powers  in 
international  relations.  It  will  do  away  with  war.  It  will 
bring  nations  to  accept  the  highest  code  of  Christian 
ethics  as  their  standard  of  conduct.  The  goal  of  the  ancient 
prophet  will  be  won,  men  acting  as  nations  to  do  what 
Jehovah  doth  "require,  ...  to  do  justly,  to  love  kind- 
ness, and  to  walk  humbly  with  God"  (Micah  6.  8). 

The  gospel  in  industry. — One  more  intense  struggle 
that  lies  before  Christianity  is  the  effort  to  bring  all 
industry  into  line  with  the  spirit  of  Jesus.  There  are  few 
agricultural  nations  left,  and  these  are  rapidly  turning  to 
manufacturing  as  the  basis  for  their  life.  But  the  effort 
to  obtain  wealth  tends  to  become  so  absorbing  that  men 
lose  sight  of  that  commandment  that  Jesus  put  on  a 
plane  with  love  to  God:  "Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor 
as  thyself"  (Matt.  22.  39). 

As  long  as  little  children  and  women  have  to  work  long 
hours  and  sap  their  strength  in  order  that  others  may 
live  in  comfort  or  luxury,  as  long  as  honest  labor  does  not 
bring  freedom  from  want  or  the  fear  of  old  age,  as  long 
as  a  disproportionate  part  of  the  returns  from  industry 
go  to  those  who  provide  only  capital,  as  long  as  there 
remains  a  majority  of  the  world's  inhabitants  on  the 
ragged  edge  of  starvation,  the  task  of  making  all  industry 
conform  to  the  Christian  ideal  of  human  brotherhood  has 
still  to  be  completed.  It  is  the  glory  of  the  church  that 
Catholics  and  Protestants  are  to-day  giving  themselves 
to  this  sort  of  intensive  spreading  of  Christianity,  so  that 
all  the  life  of  the  Western  nations  may  be  in  truth 
Christian. 

The  Great  Adventure  and  the  Great  Goal 
As  we  study  the  marvelous  things  wrought  for  the 


272     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

kingdom  of  God  by  the  great  Christians  of  the  past,  we 
may  think  that  the  day  of  high  adventure  for  Christ's 
sake  is  past.  No  more  can  a  man  defy  for  the  first  time 
those  who  would  Hmit  the  working  of  the  individual 
conscience.  No  more  can  a  man  be  the  first  to  preach 
Christ  in  India,  in  China,  in  Africa.  No  more  can  a  man 
gather  the  churches  in  a  first  world  conference  to  plan 
for  the  evangelization  of  every  nation.  But  let  us  not 
doubt  that  there  are  even  greater  opportunities  before  the 
men  and  women  who  start  out  to  serve  Christ  to-day! 

A  groping  world. — Never  has  our  world  been  so  torn 
up  as  we  see  it  to-day.  Modern  science  has  thrown  us 
all  in  upon  one  another,  and  we  have  not  mixed  well 
together.  We  are  faint  and  bewildered  with  our  fighting. 
Men  are  giving  themselves  to  all  sorts  of  experiments, 
hoping  that  they  may  find  peace  and  content  and  a 
happier  life  than  their  fathers  knew.  Men  are  sure  that 
the  old  ways  were  not  the  best  ways.  They  will  not  go 
back  to  them.  But  they  do  not  know  what  they  may  go 
forward  to. 

Our  response  to  the  challenge. — To  those  who 
have  discovered  that  Jesus  holds  out  all  that  men  are 
seeking  so  desperately,  this  groping  world  presents  a  tre- 
mendous challenge.  Every  unjust  and  unrighteous  fact 
in  the  life  of  the  West,  and  every  unfulfilled  promise  in 
the  life  of  the  East  calls  them.  They  feel  that  there  are 
better  things  to  be  done  than  just  make  a  living.  They 
are  ready  to  turn  away  from  ease  and  from  personal  gain 
to  join  that  company  of  modern  crusaders  of  whom 
Vachel  Lindsay  has  sung: 

"An  endless  line  of  splendor, 

These  troops  with  heaven  for  home, 
With  creeds  they  go  from  Scotland, 
With  incense  go  from  Rome. 


TO-DAY  AND  TO-MORROW  273 

These,  in  the  name  of  Jesus, 

Against  the  dark  gods  stand, 
They  gird  the  earth  with  valor; 

They  heed  the  King's  command. 

"Onward  the  line  advances. 

Shaking  the  hills  with  power, 
Slaying  the  hidden  demons. 

The  lions  that  devour. 
No  bloodshed  in  the  wrestling, 

But  souls  new-bom  arise — 
The  nations  growing  kinder. 

The  child-hearts  growing  wise. 

"What  is  the  final  ending? 

The  issue,  can  we  know  ? 
Will  Christ  outlive  Mohammed? 

Will  Kali's  altar  go? 
This  is  our  faith  tremendous — 

Our  wild  hope,  who  shall  scorn — 
That  in  the  name  of  Jesus 

The  world  shall  be  reborn!" 

The  world  that  is  to  be. — Jesus  sent  his  followers  to 
teach  men  to  do  all  things  that  he  had  commanded.  We 
are  a  long  way  from  that  goal.  But  we  press  toward  it. 
It  shall  be  achieved.  One  day  men  will  awake  in  a  world 
in  which  there  will  be  no  war,  no  brutality,  no  injustice, 
no  sorrow.  Declared  an  ancient  prophet:  "They  shall 
sit  every  man  under  his  vine  and  under  his  fig- tree;  and 
none  shall  make  them  afraid"  (Micah  4.  4).  Race 
prejudice  will  be  gone  from  that  world,  and  universal 
brotherhood  will  hold  sway.  Men  will  work  for  the 
common  welfare,  and  so  assure  their  own.  That  will  be  a 
world    through    which    Christianity    has    spread    com- 


274     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

pletely.    In  it  will  be  realized  the  vision  granted  to  the 
Christian  mystic : 

The  kingdom  of  the  world  is  become  the 
kingdom  of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ: 
and   he    shall   reign   for   ever   and   ever 

(Revelation  ii.  15). 

Suggestions  for  Discussion 

1 .  Make  a  map  of  the  world,  showing  by  various  colors 
the  predominant  religious  faiths  in  each  part. 

2.  How  does  the  Christian  area  compare  in  size  now 
with  that  at  the  time  of  Constantine? 

3.  Can  you  add  any  to  the  list  of  victories  still  to  be 
won  by  Christianity  within  the  nominal  Christian  lands? 

4.  Which  of  the  tasks  remaining  before  Christianity 
makes  the  greatest  appeal  to  you,  and  why? 

5.  Make  a  list  of  ten  life-callings.     Can  a  person  in 
each  one  help  in  the  spread  of  Christianity?     How? 

6.  When  do  you  consider  that  the  work  of  spreading 
Christianity  will  have  been  completed? 


AIDS  IN  THE  STUDY  OF  THIS  BOOK 

Properly  to  discuss  the  development  of  Christianity 
some  collateral  reading,  in  addition  to  the  material  in 
this  textbook,  is  needed.  It  is  recognized  that  many- 
students  and  teachers  will  have  access  to  only  a  small 
collection  of  books.   The  following  will  be  found  helpful : 

For  every  topic  in  connection  with  church  history  and 
doctrine,'  the  Hastings  Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and 
Ethics  (New  York.   1908). 

For  general  history  and  biographies  of  the  outstand- 
ing characters,  the  Encyclopcedia  Britannica,  nth  edition 
(New  York,  19 10). 

For  the  Cathohc  viewpoint  on  aU  questions.  The 
Catholic  Encyclopcpdia  (New  York,  1907). 

For  the  facts  of  church  history  the  best- compact  books 
seem  to  be:  A  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  by 
Williston  Walker  (New  York,  1918);  The  Course  of 
Christian  History,  by  W.  J.  McGlothlin  (New  York, 
1 9 18);  A  Short  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  by  John 
W.  Moncrief  (New  York,  1902;  revised  edition,  1908). 
The  latter  is  probably  the  most  readable  to  the  ordinary 
reader. 

For  the  history  of  Christian  missions:  The  Spread  of 
Christianity  in  the  Modern  World,  by  E.  C.  Moore 
(Chicago,  1 919);  History  of  Christian  Missions,  by  C.  H. 
Robinson  (New  York,  1915);  Via  Christi,  by  L.  M. 
Hodgkins  (New  York,  1901).  The  latter  is  a  popular 
handbook,  and  brings  the  account  only  to  the  time  of 
Carey. 

For  a  general  background  to  the  whole  movement: 

275 


2J^     THE  SPREAD  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

The  Outline  of  History,  by  H.  G.  Wells  (New  York,  1920) ; 
The  Story  of  Mankind,  by  Hendrick  Van  Loon  (New 
York,  192 1);  Medieval  and  Modern  Times,  by  J.  H. 
Robinson  (New  York,  1916). 

For  an  account  of  other  religions  than  Christianity: 
The  Religions  of  Mankind,  by  E.  D.  Soper  (New  York 
and  Cincinnati,  192 1). 

For  the  Social  Creed  of  the  churches :  The  Social  Creed 
of  the  Churches,  by  Harry  F.  Ward  (New  York  and 
Cincinnati,  1913).  The  creed  itself  may  be  obtained 
from  the  Federal  Council  of  Churches  of  Christ  in 
America,  105  East  2 2d  Street,  New  York  City. 

In  the  study  of  Christianity's  growth  in  non-Christian 
lands  all  the  books  for  mission  study  classes  issued  by 
the  Missionary  Education  Movement  are  of  value. 
Especial  attention  should  be  called  to  Social  Aspects  of 
Foreign  Missions,  by  W.  H.  P.  Faunce;  Rising  Churches 
in  Non-Christian  Lands,  by  Arthur  R.  Brown;  The  King- 
dom and  the  Nations,  by  Eric  M.  North. 

Every  chapter  in  the  book  can  be  fortified  by  references 
to  important  works.  Because  of  lack  of  space  no  attempt 
is  made  at  any  such  extensive  bibliography.  Teachers 
and  students  will  find  many  pastors'  hbraries  of  great 
help  in  obtaining  additional  material.  And  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  background  furnished  by  some  of  the 
great  novels,  such  as  The  Cloister  and  the  Hearth  for  the 
Middle  Ages  and  Romola  for  the  Renaissance,  will  not 
be  neglected. 


Date  Due 


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